Apotheosis of the Maelstrom
by collinsworth
Summary: Naruto wasn't allowed to develop into a loud-mouthed fool – the Kyuubi no Kitsune and the Sandaime Hokage guaranteed it. Sent to the ANBU and living under the watchful gaze of the bijū since a young age, can he finally discover his Will of Fire? Fem!Kyuubi
1. Chapter 1 — Prologue

**Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue; I do not own, so please don't sue.**

* * *

 **Chapter One  
** **Prologue**

The horror came to Konohagakure no Sato in an October's night. I heard all about it—the village burning and being torn apart into little pieces, terrified people screaming everywhere, men and women who didn't know if they would live to see another day praying for something, anything, to save them from it.

That night, legends were made, blood ran freely through the streets, and a monster was sealed.

People fought. People died.

Then, in some place right in the middle of it, I was born.

The way I heard them spinning the tale, the survivors mourned those who hadn't had that luck and, after the tears ran dry, they picked up the remains of the village and went on to rebuild their home the best they could.

No one who managed to live through this would forget that day, but as they say, life goes on.

Fourteen years passed by since the night the Nine-Tailed Fox almost destroyed the village.

Fourteen years since it had been sealed within me.

* * *

 _It's kinda the peaceful night out of here_ , I thought, just as a breeze blew through the window and brought with it the scent of leaves and trees from the forests around the village.

Too bad that, inside my little apartment located on the border of a district populated by whores and criminals and backstabbers and even some good people here and there, no one could give less of a shit about peace and quiet.

"Maybe if I tweak the axis of the eight trigrams matrix here, then—shit."

I stopped talking to myself a bit to scratch my chest. The seals I had written all over my face and body were making my skin itch like hell and, of course, it was just how my luck had it that I couldn't poke them all that much without destroying all the work I already did

over the floor in the living room and the brush in my hand looked like a blur of motion while I was giving the last touches to the seal before me. It was being drawn on a human-sized paper sheet, which was positioned right in the center of the sealing circle—a circle wide as the room was, going from wall to wall.

Wait, didn't that sound badass enough? Excuse me then—for I am an Uzumaki and Fūinjutsu is our flesh and blood. My clan could eat exploding tags for breakfast and then light a cigarette with the sparks.

Sealing was a skill that threaded the fine line between science and art and could make almost anything happen. I took to it like a duck to the water—even if I still couldn't make head or tails of the Eight Trigrams Seal that held the Kyuubi inside my metaphorical guts.

It could only be called a masterpiece, really—there's no way the seal holding the greatest of the Tailed Beasts inside could be anything less than that. Then there was the little fact about how the Yondaime had to summon the fucking Death God to made it work.

That fella took to heart the notion that if it's not overkill, you just aren't doing it right.

Matter at hand being, I and Fūinjutsu? A match made in heaven. After all, in the immortal words of the distinguished ANBU Commander Dragon, I amounted to nothing more than—and that's a real quote here— _an oversized, red-eyed, whiskered meathead with zero common sense and an alarming tendency for pyromania._

Couldn't dispute the claim, really.

I let out an exhausted breath, "I think that is finally it."

 **"I will say again,"** Kyuubi's voice resonated inside my mind, **"this is completely stupid and you are obviously brain damaged or completely mad if you can't realize this."**

"Madness is just another word for greatness, love," I answered with a smile.

She snorted. **"I ate people for less than giving me silly nicknames brat. And no—madness is another name for _I think my container is a suicidal moron_."**

"Wait, you do care? I am touched, seriously—right here in the heart."

I did not squeal with joy seeing how she was concerned about me, no matter how cute it looked. If anyone ever says anything but, you better burn the heretic because real men do not squeal in any way, shape, or form.

 **"Oh you are touched alright, it's just not in the heart,"** Kyuubi said **. "But by all means, come here in the Mindscape and I will show you how touched I can make you feel, annoying twerp."**

I just shrugged the half-baked threat from my favorite person/mythical being/bringer of destruction. She clearly had some millenniums of experience with the tsun-tsun ways.

Even then, thank Kami I had learned how to block _some_ thoughts from her.

Someone would think that your mental privacy would be the least of the problems about having a giant rabbit-fox thingy—who also happened to have destroyed half of your village—sealed inside your gut. This someone would be wrong.

I leaned over the sheet again. "Yeah, yeah, ain't you a big ball of sunshine? Now be quiet and let me check it out in the Codex for the last time."

The enormous book was opened by my side on a page showing a seal almost equal the one I drew on the sheet. The Uzumaki Codex—containing the sum of all the collected knowledge about the Sealing Arts from my clan and their story since immemorial times.

The only thing that allowed me to be _that_ much proficient in the art.

At least, Uzumaki Codex was the official name of it. In the notes of the last Uzukage of Uzushiogakure—also known as my grandfather, Uzumaki Kenshiro—it was called simply _The Awesomest Book of High-Octane Enlightenment_.

Grandpa was a wise man.

Jiji—the Sandaime Hokage—gave me the book on the day he drafted me into the ANBU Black Ops. These pages were the only thing I ever had from my heritage and my own little treasure, the only people allowed to see it being me and the Kyuubi.

I drank every piece of information of these pages like a thirsty man lost in Suna and the knowledge I earned from it was what brought me to the seal I was finishing to double-check now.

Well, the knowledge and—no. I shouldn't— _couldn't,_ think about her now.

I shook my head and got back to work, there's no way I would let my mind go back to that subject now of all the times, not when I finally could do something to try and rectify my _disgusting_ weakness.

Not now.

I finished the check-up and smiled, as I couldn't find even a single misplaced line in the array.

"We're in the clear," I said, closing the book with a snap. "Let's do it."

I got up to my feet with a groan and re-sealed the Codex in my wrist with a puff of smoke, then I walked to the small table I had put next to the window—carefully positioned under the moonlight—and took a deep breath.

Time to get to the real business.

I activated one of the seals—a little circle on the floor next to the table—and stepped inside it. _That_ was a simple Two-Way Transport Seal with a tweaked Vanishing Cluster, the change made so it would be continuously open for the substance it was keyed for.

The substance being, of course, my blood.

When touched by it, the seal would transfer the liquid to a bowl in the center of the room, no matter whatever much I bleed. Pretty useful thing, if I could say myself.

The last tools I needed to begin were these eight pieces of refined chakra metal scattered over the table. Each one had the thickness of a nail and a pointy end, each one decorated as the ritual demanded.

And let me tell you, these didn't come cheap.

I took another deep breath and picked the first one, rolling it between my fingers. The metal felt cold and the kanji for _Ichi_ carved on its side glittered under the light for a split-second.

"Well, no time like now," I muttered to myself.

Very, very cautiously, I positioned the sharp end a bit over my left eye and pressed it against my skin, biting my lip and forcing my body to not move. I could feel it tearing my flesh—a wound which would not heal until I decided so, as I had made an effort of will to halt my natural healing factor.

It was piercing my face millimeter to millimeter until it met my cranium, then I charged the metal with my chakra and _pushed._

"Kaimon, _fūin_!" I cried through gritted teeth.

Little droplets of blood fell all over the floor and were absorbed by the sealing circle under me. The seal over my left eye, now charged, flared alive—the excess of chakra rushing through my body and pulsating in unison with each one of my heartbeats.

Then I picked another piece and positioned it over my right eye.

"Kyūmon, _fūin_!"

If I wanted to, I could even close my eyes by now. I did my research about the positions of the Eight Gates again and again until I knew them by instinct. The third, Seimon, resided in my spinal chord along with the Shōmon, Tomon was in my abdomen, Keimon in my stomach—I took real care with this one because of the Eight Trigrams Seal—and then there was the Kyōmon, just under it.

As I pierce each one of them, more of the seals over my body were activating and the pain I felt increased by leaps and bounds, yet, I soldiered on like the stubborn bastard I always had been. My chakra was in turmoil, to say it kindly, and a headache began bashing my head in.

Just a little more.

My body was at war with myself. Every piece of metal inside me was channeling power through the Chakra Gates to the seals in my skin—catalyzing and molding the energy into what I needed it to be.

Maito Gai could open his Chakra Gates at will, but I? I was _piercing_ them.

Just as the Uzumaki no Saisei demanded of me.

Everyone in my clan had enormous chakra pools in comparison with the ordinary ninja, so they created the Uzumaki no Saisei to be an evolution and a trial. To be considered an adult, everyone in the clan needed to be knowledgeable enough to make the seal and have the resolve to perfectly execute it.

The last pin of chakra metal was positioned in my chest, just over my heart, waiting for me eagerly—the aura around my body being almost hungry for more power. I steadied myself, feeling the untamed chakra lashing out.

I clenched my jaw and dit it. "Kyomon, _fūin!"_

I leaned on the table to keep myself straight and almost broke it. The metal piercing my body _twisted_ and crumbled to dust as the blood all over me evaporated. I could feel my chakra _alive_ , melding with my bones and flesh, ink searing my skin and flaring in angry red lines.

 **"Brat!"** I heard Kyuubi calling. **"We're nearing critical mass! Go!"**

Even if I wanted to run, the walk back to the main sealing circle was a slow one—I couldn't trust my own body to not break everything in the way, including myself. The paper in the center of the room depicted an exact outline of my skeleton, chakra coils, tenketsu and muscular system, which I had drawn with painstakingly care under the fox's guidance.

After all, it was just the picture of the neighborhood for her.

I kneeled over the sheet, still focused on containing the power inside me, and picked the bowl full of blood. I dipped my finger in the liquid and activated the circle—the symbols on the floor shone brightly and the designs over the wall began spinning as my chakra powered them.

I raised the bowl over my head, taking a deep breath, and turned it over.

Then I clapped my hands together and put them on the ground with a shout.

"Fūinjutsu: Uzumaki no Saisei, Fūin!"

I screamed my throat raw as the pain doubled and then _tripled._ Every nerve of my body protested at once and I felt like I was suddenly submerged in a vat full of acid.

My blood—after all, blood was the _best_ medium for sealing—was acting like a connection between what was depicted in the sheet and my body, the liquid crawling over my skin and even _through_ it like magma.

Then the fox came to play. Kyuubi flooded my body with her chakra and my teeth tore my lower lip as I was destroyed from within.

Every chakra coil, every piece of me, everything screamed in agony. My muscles were unraveling while my blood vessels were ripped open and each little cell of my body was being infused with _raw power._

My bones were slowly melted by the chakra before they reformed, one after another—and I felt it all with all the slowness in the world. I dropped face first to the ground as convulsions racked my body and bent my spine while I was pulverized to dust and put together again.

The screams stopped just because my lungs didn't function anymore. The only sounds in the room now being the blood rushing into my head and the lines in the walls spinning and whirring like a giant fan, absorbing the excess of energy in the ambient and bringing it back to me.

I was blind for maybe fifteen seconds before my eyes reformed again.

When the pain stopped, I was trembling on the floor after what appeared to be hour—yet, in the real world, couldn't have been more than a few minutes. Every muscle in my body spasmed and it looked like a hurricane had happened in the middle of the room.

The landlord would be displeased.

 **"Naruto? Naruto, are you here?"** I heard Kyuubi, uncertainty clear in her voice as she called me. I blinked two times in answer her because I didn't trust my throat to produce something more recognizable than a gargle. **"Congratulations brat, it really worked! We're done here."**

That was true, I could even feel it—every part of my body had been permanently infused with chakra. My chakra coils were no more as my own flesh was entwined with my chakra now.

I made some experimental grunts to try and find my voice, then turned my head to the side to spit a glob of blood. "Good, but I will wait until I regain the feeling in my legs before I try to stand up, thank you very much."

 **"Puny meatbags these days, I never saw the likes of Hashirama Senju kissing the floor over small fry like that in the good old times."**

A coarse laugh bubbled in my throat and I tried my best attempt at a roguish smile. "Why? Want me to kiss you instead of the floor?''

Kyuubi just ignored the question and I felt a little more of her chakra coursing through myself. **"Run the expected effects for me again, so I can check and compare with what I remember from Mito and Kushina."**

I recalled what I knew of the Uzumaki no Saisei and began reciting it in my seldom used lecture mode, which I had proudly shanghaied from Iruka-sensei. Even then, I couldn't shake the nagging suspicion that she was just trying to see if I wasn't brain damaged after the process.

The scary thing? _I_ wanted to know, too.

"The way it _should_ be used makes chakra fusion with the body at a cellular level; the chakra coils just cease to exist and everything in your body becomes one with chakra."

 **"Checked, you don't have the coils anymore."**

I tried to wiggle my toes and smiled when I felt them working normally.

"The effects are the basic package of unbridled Uzumaki violence—more strength, speed, enhanced healing," Kyuubi made a strangled noise and I rolled my eyes. "Shut up, I know mine is kinda ridiculous already. Anyway, the ritual supposed to attune you better with your chakra nature too, although in our case..."

I let the sentence hang there.

 **"I see—the perfect fusion of spiritual and physical chakra with the material medium. It's— really, it's no surprise that everyone wanted you abominations** _ **wiped**_ **from the world."**

I nodded. "In a nutshell, then?"

A truly unholy grin stretched my lips and I could bet my right arm that it was perfectly mirrored in the Fox's maw. Oh yeah, my life would be very, very interesting from now onward.

"I am a very, very dangerous individual now."

After a second's silence, Kyuubi spoke with some disbelief in her voice. **"No shit, brat. You put hours upon hours of effort in that seal and... that's the result?"**

Wait, what? Did I hear a giant murderous fox _squeal in delight_?

 **"I am so proud! My jinchūriki is** _ **the**_ **shit now!"**

How could I disagree with her? Making eldritch things with ink, stubbornness and a bad attitude always had been a proud Uzumaki tradition, and the fūinjutsu madness was quite the common trait in the Uzumaki family line.

Thinking about it, I could truly imagine mom running around in the afterlife like a squirrel on cocaine, yelling for anyone close enough to hear about how "my son is awesome, 'ttebane!".

Smiling at that mental image, I raised myself off the floor and felt distinctly relieved that I hadn't become a crippled slime. Rotating my arms to test my flexibility, I cracked my neck and stretched my sore muscles to get the blood flowing back to them.

How was I doing after this ritual-sealing hybrid, you ask?

Fucking _good_ _,_ that's how.

My body felt better than ever, the pain and soreness all but vanished and I was feeling like I could withstand a bum-rush of Iwa heavy-hitters with just my boxers and a smile. I picked the scraps of chakra metal of the table and crushed them in my hand without any effort, reducing the things to nothing but warped shapes and metallic dust.

I felt _alive_.

And my chakra—now, _that_ was impressive.

I whistled. "Kyū..."

The fox didn't even try to conceal her amusement. **"Brat?"**

I opened my arms and flared my chakra, blowing everything around me away. "Kyū!"

 **"Brat!"** She shouted.

I couldn't hold it inside me anymore and began laughing. Hard. So hard I dropped wheezing to the ground while holding my sides. It was just precious, once again the ingenuity of the Uzumaki Clan gave me a way to kick ass and take names.

Still snickering and with a happy skip on my steps, I walked to the bathroom and took my clothes off, only to suddenly feel the urge to stop in the front of the mirror. A chill ran over my spine as a thought came to the forefront of my mind.

I didn't stop to think about it, but could my features have been altered by what I did? I was almost scared to look, but I did nonetheless.

I promptly breathed in relief.

The same man was looking back to me. The strong jaw, the looks—too ruggedly, in my opinion, to be called handsome. Three whiskers on each cheek, high cheekbones, straight nose. I was taller than everyone my age, and more muscular than everyone in Konoha too. Anko-chan had said something about _heroic build_ while talking about me. Bulging biceps and developed chest, veins and muscles everywhere— _muscular fibers, myocytes, with the density of titanium and sinews stronger than steel cables,_ the doc on the HQ said.

The only change was my eyes. The slitted pupil remained here, but the normal _red_ of the iris was more vivid, glowing a bit more than before.

I rubbed my hand over my face—that was definitely _too much_ emotion for that night.

Shaking my head, I stepped into the shower and, under the warmth of the water, scrubbed the ink off my skin. Daydreams of all the exploits, chaos and generously applied amounts of property damage lurking in my future made me almost drool.

In a totally unrelated note, I like to imagine that at this exact time, the citizens of Konoha shivered in abject terror.

Kyuubi was thoroughly amused.

* * *

After calming myself with the bath, I jumped on my bed and drifted into meditation with ease. I followed the pull of the seal in my stomach to enter my mindscape, as I needed to talk with my vixen now.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

Inhale — _there._

When I opened my eyes, I was inside the seal and my vision was dominated by a lushly green field, scattered with some seriously big trees and a beautiful night sky sprinkled with the stars from above. The plains extended to the limit of my vision and beyond, with a far-away river cutting them.

The single most eye-catching feature there was, of course, a giant reddish-orange fox lying down peacefully under an oversized tree. Strange, I know—peace and she didn't usually mix too much, so I looked at the unusual scene with a smile.

I always liked to visit Kyuubi before sleeping, mostly because I didn't appreciate the fact that she was alone here most of the time.

"Yo, Kyu. Everything's alright here?" I asked, walking in her direction.

The Fox eyed me carefully.

 **"Yes, Naruto. I'm good,"** She said. Her voice sounded... different. Soft, almost.

Wait— _holy shit_!

She used my name, my fucking name! She never called me Naruto normally, it was only "brat", "ningen" and a whole bunch of nicknames—some better than others. What in the bloody hell had inspired this change?

"I'm _Naruto_ now?"

She just stared at me.

I sat cross legged at her side and leaned to support my back in her fur. "Of course I am—what's on your mind?"

She ignored the question and pointed to the night sky. **"Look."**

Then Kyuubi waved a paw and the firmament of the mindscape _changed._

I couldn't describe the appearance without saying anything more than the fact that the night sky now had lights draped all over it—it looked simply breathtaking, these green lights which appeared to be dancing with the stars.

"That's…" I tried again to find the right words and failed utterly, resigning myself to stare at the spectacle with an open mouth. "That's incredible, Kyū! What is that?"

 **"It was called Aurora Borealis—The Northern Lights. A natural effect which happened around the poles of our world a long, very long, time ago,"** she said. **"I don't know if it still happens, but back in the day, I loved to lie down and look at these lights… now they are just a reminder of a past long gone."  
**  
I found myself grinning—the fox had witnessed so much, _knew_ so much, and it was simply amazing! I remembered how she used to tell me stories when I was younger, of the old times and many different things, about battles, about men and women who changed the world and of lands outside the Elemental Nations.

 **"You impressed me today."**

And _that_ brought my thoughts crashing down to earth.

"Wha—with the seal work? Come on—you're millenniums old, a hairless monkey with a brush like you normally call me can't be that impressive." I dismissed the compliment, trying to hide the pride I felt at hearing it.

 **"No, not with the seal. To do what we've done—you gave me free reign with your body. With the same ease I attached the Uzumaki no Saisei to your insides,"** Kyuubi shook her head, **"Naruto, I could have done much more. I am not certain if you know, but, if I wanted, I could overpower the seal and your own coils to be free.** _ **And kill you in the process**_ **."**

She whispered the last part, but I heard it clearly and didn't even need to think to answer her.

"I knew. Just as I knew you wouldn't do it."

She tried to mask her surprise, I think, but the slight widening of her eyes and the slack of her jaw gave her away. **"And how, exactly, did you know I wouldn't?"**

"Because I trust you."

Her blank expression changed in one of absolute shock—it was like she never received the trust of a human being before and, thinking about it, that was probably the case. Almost everyone considered her a raving beast and reacted to her presence by fighting or fleeing.

It was a sad thought because I knew the error of this judgment better than anyone alive. She was brilliant—smart, knowledgeable, and the single most interesting person I knew.

"Yes, you have my trust, Kyū," I nervously rubbed the back of my neck. "Look, I'm not big with emotional talks, but if you need to be certain of something, it's this. I would trust you with my life without a second thought."

We fell into a comfortable silence as I looked to the Mindscape's sky. She knew the reasons for that trust and they were important ones indeed. When I had no one to turn to, she was there for me—with me. She never left me alone.

I stood up and began pacing around, still trying to organize my thoughts in a way I could make some sense of my own reasons and tell her.

"You know, Jiji and the people in the ANBU are important to me too," I kicked a stone and turned to her, waving a hand. "Fuck, Kakashi is practically my brother in all but blood—but they aren't you, you know? For them, I would fight, bleed and kill, but for you?" I lowered my voice almost to a whisper. "I would die for you, Kyu. Come hell or high water, it _is_ you and me against the world, without you—Kyuubi, you are the only thing keeping me sane. If something happened to you, I—"

I looked down, trying to find the correct, smart words, without success. My nervous tick began acting again—with each snap of my fingers, a little flame ignited in my hands before it was snuffed out by another snap.

"You know what? I wouldn't exchange my life for anyone's else. Ever. Just because I have you."

She stood in silence, a comprehensible reaction to the bomb I had just dropped. Kyū could count her age with five digits or more and her thought processes—her moral compass was, simply put, inhuman.

The realization of what I had just said probably struck her silly.

But it was the truth. When I was a little boy who knew nothing, she was there teaching me, guiding me when I was growing and telling me her stories. When I fought for his village in my missions, she was here with me too, helping me to survive and _win_.

Kyuubi helped me cast away most of these pesky concerns about what the villagers thought about me and focus on people who really mattered, and she did it with her mere presence and companionship. She changed me to more than I could ever be if I was left alone the mushroom style—kept in the dark and fed with bullshit.

And I was nothing if not grateful for it.

Finally, she saw fit to begin talking.

 **"Naruto, I've known you before even you knew yourself,"** Kyuubi said, **"and yet, you keep surprising me."**

She inhaled a deep breath and looked at the sky.

 **"You already knew how, when I was unleashed upon Konoha by that son of an Uchiha whore, the people here saw me just like all humans did before—a rampaging beast. Even when I tried to reason with the silly maggots—"**

"Calling them silly maggots probably didn't help your case."

Kyuubi gave me a _look_ and I made the wise decision of shut up **. "Then, when you awoke inside the seal after the situation at the Forest of Death, we talked,"** she shrugged her shoulders, **"of course it was merely for the novelty of the thing. My previous seals had me strapped to rocks or nailed with pointy shit, so a talkative host was quite the news—even if I had already fully planned to rip your mind at the earliest convenience."**

Of course she did. Why was I not even a bit surprised?

One of her tails nudged me in the head. **"But you, this tiny little squirt of a human, talked to me like I was just another person or a rational being—and lo and behold, I really am. There were you, smaller than my pinkie, talking a big game to me. To** _ **me**_ **!"**

She laughed at the absurdity of the situation and even I let a snicker or two escape. Seriously, remembering that made me think I should have had a big pair of brass balls with the third one made of titanium—and maybe measure of insanity—when I was a kid. Probably both.

 **"There and then, I decided to remain and see what you would become—I'm immortal, it's no biggie either way."**

I snorted and caressed her tail. "I live only to entertain you, ne?''

She ignored me, the rude little—heh, _little—_ thing. **"I was pleasantly surprised with your own brand of... let's say, uniqueness, you crazy bastard. You made immortality interesting for the first time in ages and... well, I am amused. So you shall receive a reward."**

As she finished talking, her enormous body began glowing.

I raised an eyebrow and clapped with false enthusiasm. "Thank you, thank you! I feel really appreciated now that I have a brand new demonic flashlight, why, thank you!"

She still managed to give me a withering glare. **"Lame. Just watch and be amazed."**

Let's never be said that Uzumaki Naruto didn't enjoy a gift in any shape or kind. I nodded happily and waited, and waited, and—the fuck?!

From the absolutely nothing, I shit you not, she was suddenly enveloped by fire _._ Well, I could do something like that too, so it wasn't so big of a surprise—the surprise was the _form_ she had inside that fire.

I swallowed dryly.

For the barest of the seconds, I saw it and that creature was just wrong—wrong in the sense of breaking the possible shapes of the reality, contorting in a geometry just impossible for the human mind to comprehend. Too many sides, too many angles—that thing wasn't a fox, wasn't a—it just _was_.

Kyuubi howled to the sky and the flames around _it_ suddenly flared to a painful degree, the light of a star going supernova contained in her new and otherworldly form. The being was swirling and compressing itself, making the mindscape tremble with her immeasurable power.

I could hear someone or something _screaming_ in the wind and everything pulsated around us like a giant heartbeat.

With another howl, the Northern Lights above us blistered red before they broke into wisps of light as the sky _burned._ The very weaving of the mindscape unraveled and twisted at her show of strength, groaning and screeching at her presence.

For the first time, I understood why the Yondaime needed the help of a god to seal the Nine Tailed Fox inside me—being in that presence was the closest thing to a religious experience I ever had been through.

I smelled the smoke of fields torn apart by war and felt the heat of flames in all forms caressing my skin. I saw a sun rising and dying on the horizon and heard meat sizzling in a bonfire, there were stars being born and the eruption of volcanoes all around me.

I saw and felt everything.

My own chakra was answering the call—a blazing inferno, inside me and _hungry._

Her presence was everywhere and, for my life, I couldn't avoid looking at her until the power subsided—just for me to immediately bit my lower lip in hopes of stopping the nervous laugh bubbling in my throat.

The giant fox was no more—instead, inside the light, there was a form with a head and four limbs as the demon inside me turned into a woman and a rather petite one. She would reach my chest, at most, and would appear totally fragile next to me—even if I knew better.

Then the light disappeared and I fully saw her human form for the first time.

My jaw fell to the ground.

She was, in a word, gorgeous.

Her face was heart-shaped, with a cute nose, regal cheekbones, and pouty lips. Her hair flowed in a bright red color, which made me of fire and blood, covering an eye and reaching the base of her spine. She had the perfect hourglass figure, with wide hips and a thin waist. It could be said that her smile was a bit wider than it was adequate to her face, yet, it added to his beauty instead of detracting from it _—_ kind of a dangerous allure.

 _Like a queen—_ that was the only thing I could think about how she looked and carried herself.

She was clearly well-endowed, wearing a white kimono with red designs, and the fact that I couldn't see a signal of a bra made my cheeks burn. She a black choker around her delicate neck and the stone in the center of was a representation of the seal, making a contrast with her pale skin.

When she opened her eyes, they were like mine but inexplicably different—a pair of crimson irises and slit pupils burning with an eerily glow in the Mindscape's night.

She wouldn't fool anyone if she tried to pass as a human, as no mere human being could ever be _this_ beautiful and unblemished.

My thoughts were interrupted by a warm pressure—tasting slightly of strawberries— right against my lips. It was an unexpected and welcomed sensation, that kiss—my first kiss. A chaste kiss which ended too fast for my liking.

Speechless, the only thing I could rationalize enough to do was to look in her eyes and put my hands on her waist, bringing her closer and waiting for her to take the next step.

And her eyes! They were shockingly full of a feeling I never even dreamed about seeing and, in these fleeting seconds, I could honestly say that I knew her for what she really was. I could see anything and everything the single most important person in my world had in her heart.

Prideful. Arrogant. Deadly. She didn't have a smidge of care about almost anything or anyone, viewing the human race with scorn and contempt. A textbook demoness through and through.

Sure, sure, of course, she was all of that.

With me? She could make me laugh at the worst days and we could talk for hours at end. For me, the Kyuubi no Kitsune wasn't only a being hellbent in devastation nor an eldritch abomination who only felt rage.

She was perfect.

 **"My name is Natsumi."**

Her voice had changed with the transformation, now velvety and full of silky undertones. Yet, even if she sounded sultry and feminine now, her words still carried a current of inhuman power—and I almost flinched remembering what she really was, that _thing_ inside the fire.

 **"And with that kiss, I made your** _ **mine**_ **."**

I couldn't think, really, so I just acted.

I cupped her cheek and kissed her lips. It probably was sloppy—I didn't have much experience, but she seemed to like it. I pushed her until her back was pressed against the tree and caressed her sides—then her hands were suddenly in my hair, unmaking the ponytail and scratching my scalp.

We practically melded together, her breasts a firm and alluring pressure against my exposed chest. She tentatively touched my lips with the tip of her tongue and I opened my mouth, our tongues clashing in need and without any reminiscence of restraint or control.

The kiss only stopped when I felt the need of air and, even then, I could feel an almost obscenely big smile forming on my face—an expression she mirrored in her own. How do they say it? Jackpot, tiger!

"I—" I said, trying to regain my breath. "I think we should stop for tonight."

Her grin was reminiscent of the cat that got the canary. **"Well, whatever, it's not like I am going anywhere."**

Then she put a finger on my lips.

 **"Just one thing—Nat is okay, but if you call me Natsumi-chan, I will rip your tongue off with my own teeth and slap you with it."**

I laughed and nuzzled my face in the crook of her neck. "Stop before you turn me on, little vixen," I said, kissing her on the lips one more time before what I said fully registered to her.

She pushed me away and punched my shoulder. **"** _ **Little**_ **vixen? Fuck you, meatbag!"**

"Sorry, I have class. You will need to wait for the third date."

Nat just rolled her eyes and gave a smile just a few steps of being downright predatory, looking at me like I was a piece of meat—the thing is, I couldn't decide if I should feel threatened or pleased by it.

So I settled for being turned on. Hormonal teenager there and all, gents.

Stealing another kiss, I released her and found myself already missing the heat of her body. Funny how someone can miss something he had just got, no?

Then I had a great idea.

Intending to give her a gift too, and an awesome one at that, I closed his eyes for a second and spread my will over the Mindscape's form, focusing on all the feelings of _home,_ of _belonging,_ I had in me.

My tongue poked through my lips and, with my face scrunched in concentration, I clapped my hands together and touched the ground.

The mindscape trembled before me and, slowly, a house sprouted from the soil—created with nothing but my will—and the building was very impressive in my humble opinion.

It was mostly made of wood and built very similarly to the Sarutobi Clan Compound, where Hokage-jiji let me host my meager birthday parties when I was younger. It represented a place of good memories and happiness for me and, now, it was hers.

Things inside the Mindscape tend to be quite the _in-your-face_ kind of symbolic.

The house had a garden and big windows, as I already knew that Natsumi liked to awake with the sunrise shining on her face. I never got the hang of it, must be a fox thing, but to each one his own.

Proud of my creation, I caught her hand and walked her to the house—no, to her house. Our house.

"I don't like gettin' things without giving anything in return," I said, scratching my chin. "The house is yours, Nat."

Nat looked around with a finger under her lower lip. **"I don't know, it looks like quite the nouveau-riche kind of house. I will need to redecorate it** _ **extensively**_ **before it suits my needs** _ **.**_ **"**

She made a show of looking to the house for some seconds more before she turned to me again. **"In all seriousness now, thank you—I haven't had a house in almost two centuries."**

I shook my head and embraced her again, giving her a long last kiss before I left. It wasn't a steamy or lustful one, but it was sweet—a kiss intended to mean that I would be back in no time for more.

The last thing I could see before my presence in the landscape faded was Natsumi, standing here at the doormat and touching his lips daintily, with a small and beautiful smile still on her face.

* * *

When I woke up, I needed all of my willpower to just suppress an enthusiastic yell and a suitable celebratory dance. This night had been—hell, what's with Natsumi finally talking about herself to me and the kiss— the kiss! Holy mother of Log, I had kissed the Kyuubi.

Or, to be more exact, she kissed me.

Kami's balls.

Thinking about it, with her living inside me, kissing her sounds as an extreme case of bilateral masturbation—and on that note, I need to say that my mind always had been quite warped in some ways, so bear with me there.

Could I consider her my girlfriend? Unlikely, as she was above this pedestrian shit. She would probably call me her "mate" just to fuck with me and laugh at my face, and I didn't doubt for a second that she would do it.

Whatever our label was, you better be pretty fucking sure that we were together now.

A snort escaped from my lips when I thought more about my actual situation.

If the someone caught wind of my kiss and—hopefully—future ones with Natsumi, the hospital would need to be on red alert for cardiac arrests and a lynch mob would be knocking at my door. She would probably find a way to stroll right in the village just for shits and giggles, too.

Without wiping the totally satisfied look from my face, I closed my eyes and set my sails to the dreamland. I was under the distinct impression that my dreams would evoke the figure of a certain red-haired vixen with burning eyes and luscious, strawberry flavored lips.

Things were looking up for me.

* * *

 **Uzumaki Codex**

 **(** _ **The Awesomest Book of High-Octane Enlightenment)**_

Fūinjutsu: Uzumaki no Saisei ‒ Seal Art: Whirlpool Rebirth.

Rank: A/S

Created by the Uzumaki Clan to remedy the lack of control over their large pool of chakra and enhance the mutations commons to their bloodline—a mixture of sealing array and ritual designated to mix the chakra and the flesh of the recipient, infusing the body with chakra and destroying the chakra coils. Effects range from enhanced control over the user chakra, easier molding of chakra and natural enhancement of body features (muscles, bones, nerves, and organs).

It's theorized that jinchūrikis, with a cooperative bijū, can attain one hundred percent synchronization. _(If you are reading, Kushi-hime, sorry—you already have done the ritual without the Bijū's help, so it will remain only a theory. Also, for the love of Kami, please forget about that flaky blonde twerp already before I feel the need to bulldoze him to the next thursday—Uzumaki Kenshiro)_

To succeed in the coming of age ceremony of Uzushiogakure, the Uzumaki in question needs to craft, execute and withstand the ritual to be considered an adult member of the clan.

( _Kenshiro here again just for an addendum. The reasoning behind this rule is, by the mouth of our representative at diplomatic liaisons Uzumaki Kamina—"We are already awesome, so with that, we will double the awesome. Whoever can't double the hell of the awesome, just needs to strive to triple it instead of giving up! We need to go beyond the impossible and kick logic in the balls, as a true Uzumaki should do!". After that, he received a standing ovation.)_


	2. Chapter 2 — Titanomachy

**Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue; I do not own, so please don't sue.**

* * *

 **Chapter Two  
Titanomachy**

I woke up when the sound of footsteps came from the outside of my bedroom. The faint noise startled me awake and made me react by molding my chakra in my right hand in the form of a kunai and holding it in an inverted grip.

The invader would learn how much I am _not_ a morning person.

I threw the sheets off me and jumped from the bed, approaching the door separating my bedroom from the rest of my apartment in a silent stalk. I stopped only to rub my eyes and turned the knob, shoving the door open with my bare shoulder.

The intruder was right in my kitchen, slouched nonchalantly in a chair like he owned it.

Oh, _him._

He was a tall man with a half-mask and had an orange book open next to his face. He was wearing the standard jounin uniform—the one with the Uzumaki swirl in his back— and, despite his appearance, he was regarded as a living legend in the village.

Hatake Kakashi—also known as Sharingan no Kakashi, my sensei since I entered the ANBU, a veteran of the Third Great Ninja War, jerkass extraordinaire, and one of the few true friends I had.

So, I promptly threw my kunai at him to give the respectful _good morning_ he deserved.

"The fuck you are here, Kakashi-sensei?!" I shouted from the door.

Suddenly throwing a kunai at someone could be seen as kind of an overreaction, but with him? Kakashi was _absurdly_ skilled—as things were, he could defend himself from a pesky little thing like that while blindfolded and tied upside down over a pit of crocodiles.

And yes, I had the dubious pleasure of witnessing that during a seriously weird mission.

True to his form, Kakashi slapped the weapon away from himself with the book's cover and pointed an accusatory finger to me. "Maa, Naruto, that's how you treat a guest here?"

"No—just invaders," I answered. Seeing as how I probably wouldn't get any more sleep, I rubbed my eyes and made a beeline to the cupboard, where I picked a jar of coffee and two mugs. "Man, I am really hating you now. It's what? Six o'clock?"

"Seven," Kakashi theatrically put his hand over his chest, "and someday you will hurt my heart with these mean words, you cold little kouhai you."

"Keep it up and maybe I will use a kunai instead of words to hurt your heart," I said and raised an eyebrow. "And you're calling me cold? _Me?_ Just watch closely then, you heathen."

I slowly poured the coffee into the mugs, touched each one with a finger and channeled my chakra through my skin just enough to heat both of them—a feat which would be almost impossible for me before yesterday's night.

The only reason I could even do something like that, period, was a side effect of having the adaptable chakra of an Uzumaki, the Eight Trigrams Seal and housing the Kyuubi almost since birth—her presence mutated me in her likeness.

Not that I complained much about that.

The spiritual—or yin—aspect of my chakra is fire, _all_ kinds of fire, even the metaphysical side of it. I can create and control flames better than any Katon user and even do that with heat to a minor degree, at least until I can train more and better my control.

When the mug began steaming, I cut the flow of chakra and turned to Kakashi. I smiled at my success, then, and offered one cup to Kakashi—carefully watching for his reaction.

He didn't look very impressed. "So you are like a blond microwave now? I am truly amazed."

"Geez sensei, fuck you too," I said and sat in the chair next to him, rolling my eyes at his almost criminal lack of appreciation for my abilities all the while.

"How rude," he shook his head and looked back to his book, "I will not even answer that."

True to his word, he said nothing more. I huffed in exasperation and raised my fist to him, then he gave an eye-smile in his own infinitely infuriating way and finally put his Icha Icha down to bump his knuckles with mine.

"Now cut the bullshit and say what you are here for," I asked, stopping only to stifle another yawn and wave in his direction. "I didn't even know that your lazy ass could wake up before dinner."

"Hello pot, my name is kettle—and look, we are both black," he answered. "I'll have you know, though, that the Hatake clan is renowned far and wide for our morning disposition."

"Sure, and Iwagakure is known for their truly _burning_ love for the Yondaime."

"Maa, aren't you a real _blast_? Anyway, to be clear, I am here at this ungodly hour because the Hokage ordered me to pick you up and go to his office—urgently, too," Kakashi took another sip from his mug. "You know how he gets."

I just sighed in answer and drank the entirety of my coffee in a big gulp.

"Dude, I swear the Old Man do it just because he can't sleep more than two hours straight— three, tops," I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Hell, sure, hang there while I put some clothes and let's go."

Kakashi gave me a look while I got up and raised an eyebrow, his mask stretching with a smile. "I don't know, Naruto, you could bring half of Konoha down into submission with a chest like that—have you ever thought of weaponizing it, maybe in a Bishounen no Jutsu or whatever?"

 **"We-ee-ll,"** Natsumi made her presence known, stretching the word as if she was seriously contemplating the idea. **"Kakashi's pretty right on the money about it, Naruto."**

 _'Good morning for you too,'_ I greeted her and cheerfully showed Kakashi my middle finger. "Up yours, douche-sensei."

He was already hidden behind his book, though. "Not on the first date, hot stuff."

 **"That's what she said!"**

Under that combined assault of overwhelming proportions, I took the sensible way out and made a tactical retreat for the safety of my bedroom—but not before I thanked every god out of here for the fact that these two wouldn't meet for a long, long time.

I opened the door of my battered wardrobe and began putting my usual clothes on, gazing with nothing but contempt at the corner populated by horrible neon-orange outfits.

All of which were reserved for my Academy days, as they were large and stupid—so they would underestimate me. With my posture slouched, in clothes too large to show how strong I really am and colored too dumbly to someone to think of me as a threat, they were the perfect disguise.

Snickering, I put a black, sleeveless shirt with the Uzumaki swirl in red at the back, slightly padded for added protection, and cargo pants of the same color.

I covered my hands with a pair of fingerless gloves with metal plates over the knuckles and put my forearm guards and a pair of black steel-toed boots. Then I closed the wardrobe and picked my knife—if I could call that _thing_ long as my forearm that—off my nightstand, firmly strapping it on my left hip.

Finally, I picked my ANBU mask and hung it on my belt.

The mask was beautiful, plain white and in the form of a grinning fox, with red swirling details scattered all over the front and, inside, it was scribbled with various seals—increased hardness, fireproofed, self-cleaning, everything. It was a work of art if I can say so myself.

Standing up, I snapped my hair in a ponytail and looked in the mirror.

Armed, dangerous, and stylish as hell. I was ready to roll.

Natsumi apparently was of the same mind. **"I could eat you, you know—specially when you are well dressed like that."**

'I need to go, Nat, but hold the thought until I come back to the mindscape tonight.'

She laughed. **"Gladly. Now go, the cyclops is waiting for you."**

"Off we go then, milady," I said, and as I closed the door to the bedroom and turned to Kakashi's direction, I stopped in shock and took a double take of the scene that was developing at my kitchen.

It couldn't be true—it was too _perfect._

Kakashi obviously wasn't a morning person, and that was a conclusion reinforced by the snores coming between his crossed arms. The man was dead on his tracks, sprawled at my table and drooling all over it.

Possessed by some sort of demonic inspiration, I gave him a mischievous smirk and began planning a method to wake him from his slumber. Of course, I could do it in a calm, respectful and gentle way...

Nope, fuck that noise.

"Natsumi," I smiled, rubbing my hands together, "do you want to see something cool?"

Why, she did.

A minute after that, I put my mask, jumped out of the window and began running for my life in the direction of the Hokage's Tower. Just before the underpowered Exploding Tag I had put next to Kakashi's head detonated.

This would teach the bastard a lesson about waking people from their good, supple and redheaded dreams. I think I startled some people in the way when I began cackling like a madman, but paid no mind to it. All was good.

* * *

The first thing in saw in Jiji's office was a cloud of tobacco smoke spiraling around the room.

The office was spacious, with a great view right to the Hokage Monument, two couches on the walls, one under the past Hokages portraits, two chairs before his desk—and one for him on the other side of it, where he was seated.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was here, clad in his Hokage garb and puffing his faithful pipe while writing something in a paper, the same scene I saw many, many times before since my childhood.

I took out my mask—the office was protected by a myriad of seals who would protect my identity—and crashed in one of the couches. "You know Jiji, my shtick is setting things on fire and official documents are flammable. Temptation much?"

He had just opened his mouth to answer when a half deaf and loudly swearing Kakashi proceeded to come through the window. Kakashi then straightened himself and, probably mistaking Jiji's open mouth for shock, began to apologize.

"Sorry Hokage-sama, but—" I laughed at the scene and the jounin stopped to give me the evil eye. "Someday I will kill you, Naruto. Kill you dead."

"Sure thing, sensei," I answered, nodding respectfully to him and biting my lower lip to not laugh again. Well, let's never be said that Uzumaki Naruto couldn't exercise restraint when needed.

The Hokage gave us a nod of recognition and a snicker to the smoking jounin, then exhaled a long puff of smoke out of his nostrils. "Kakashi-san, Naruto-kun, I hope it's a good day for you two, and please excuse me for this early call."

He politely ignored my ramblings about how the day would be better if I was still sleeping—instead, he shuffled the papers on his desk and wait for me to shut the hell up.

When I picked the clue and did just that, he steepled his fingers together under his chin and his smile vanished from his face.

"I called your two here because I have a mission of utmost importance and which your respective specialties will compliment greatly," He said, looking at each of us with narrowed eyes. "It's an A-rank bodyguard mission for a distinguished individual."

I was completely certain that, if I was anyone else, the Hokage would never even dream of sending an ordinary Academy student (and not even an official genin yet) to a mission of this caliber. However, I was a special case. My record and commendations in my time of ANBU service could attest so.

"I hope you two are recovered from your last mission?" Jiji asked.

I winced, the image of that little girl's face in the last mission flashing in my mind—it wouldn't happen again. Never again. I clenched my fists and set my jaw, nodding in the Hokage's direction.

Kakashi did the same but spared me a worried glance.

"Good, because the one protected will be me," Jiji gave a humorless smile. "I think that a plot was afoot in our village and I need more manpower with me. So, you two will accompany me to the next Clan Meeting for an extra measure of caution."

I exchanged a bewildered and shocked look with Kakashi. What could the bloody hell be happening for the fucking Hokage himself want more protection with him?

"Yes, Hokage-sama," I said slowly. "We will do our duty."

Duty. Duty, for we ninjas, is to fight, kill and sabotage in their missions—a reality I knew very well, and nobody knew better than us ANBU. We are the soldiers under the Hokage's orders, the first and last line of defense of the ones we care for, the blades in the dark and reddened with blood. That's our duty.

And myself? I would fulfill my duty.

Because that girl in our last mission deserved no less from me.

* * *

I was panting and sweat was dripping from my face as I blocked the strike of the knife with my own and tried to follow it with a punch. My enemy merely blocked the punch with his forearm—enhancing it with chakra to resist, no doubt—then punched me in the face with a brutal haymaker.

I tried to parry but lost my footing and the sheer strength of the attack drove me to the ground.

He didn't lose time and lunged at me while I was falling, but I put a hand on the ground and snapped my right foot up—aiming for his chin. He bent back to avoid it and I jumped back to my feet, springing in his direction.

"You're still open in your stance with your attacks," Sarutobi Asuma said, promptly deflecting my attack to his side and slicing a bloody line in my chest—from my hips to the shoulder. "Even if you have your own capabilities, it's no excuse for being careless."

Asuma was a bearded jounin and a former member of the Twelve Guardians Ninja, the elite bodyguarding squad who had the duty to personally defense the fire Daimyo. Today, he had been teaching me a few tips on how to handle a knife fight, as Kakashi was needed in the headquarters.

He was, too, Jiji's son and a friend of mine for my time in the Sarutobi Clan Compound. He knew of me enough to not take it easy while training me—which, clearly, was further proved by the fact he had been vigorously kicking my ass around since morning.

I nodded and he came back at me in a flurry of blows. Asuma had never been the fastest of the jounins nor the most adept with Jutsus, but he was freakishly strong and his defense was off the charts. I rarely trained with him, but when I did, I managed to connect an attack through his guard only once in a sparkling blue moon.

"Good!" Asuma said, his cigarette clenched between his teeth in a grin. "Keep it up now, kiddo!"

I blocked his double slash with my forearm guards. "Sure, Asuma-sensei!"

Sparks were flying from where our blades were in contact—we weren't using Jutsu and kept our Taijutsu and strength to the barely minimum today, it was a knife fight only. He didn't even channel wind chakra to his trench knives, not that he needed it to stomp on me.

Still, I couldn't complain. I had wanted to feel at ease with my body again after the Uzumaki no Saisei—coming on a mission with untested Jutsu or changes in one's body is kind of wanting to commit suicide-by-shinobi—so, the training session was a must.

We traded blows for a while until I managed to slice his shoulder.

I knew I was fucked then.

He made a feint to the left and I fell for it. I tried to block, but suddenly he was right into my guard and attacked faster than a snake lunging at a prey. First, he slammed his fist in my belly, the pointy knuckle guards of his knives furthering the damage, and then he slipped under my defense and punched my chin.

And he punched hard. Hard enough to make me dizzy.

It was all of the opening he needed. When I looked back to him, with blood dripping from the corner of my mouth, I felt one of his blades in my throat and the other in the back of my neck.

"The fight is mine," Asuma declared and removed the knives.

"Hai," I nodded. We didn't talk for a bit, as he took his time to pick a cigarette of his pack and offer me one—I know, it was an unsavory habit, but when you have my nose and can smell _everything, every time,_ you take what you can to dull the senses a bit while out of combat.

"You are stronger than before, even with your weights on," Asuma said and I light a small fire in the point of our cigarettes with a snap of my fingers. "How much are you using again?"

"Two thousand pounds in each arm and leg, more or less," I said. "Need to up it, though."

He nodded. "Good, but your stance, however, is still _too_ open—how is your finger by the way?" Asuma asked and pointed to my hand. "I made a clean cut so a medic-nin can put it back fast."

"What are you talking—" I looked down and snapped my mouth shut. The fucking pinky finger of my right hand was missing, even if the wound wasn't bleeding and steam was coming out of the stump.

I hadn't even felt it, his knives were _that_ sharp.

"Oh fuck me, that again?" I slapped a hand in my forehead and shook my head.

Asuma began laughing but suddenly stopped. " _Again?_ "

"Happened before with Kakashi. Sometimes a finger, sometimes an eye, then there's that time when he managed to stab me in the di—hell, don't ask, seriously. " I said and shrugged. "Whatever, it will grow back before the mission anyway. I'm good."

He raised an eyebrow.

"You are a crazy little shit, you know that? People don't react to missing bits with _meh,_ " Asuma mocked, breathing smoke right in my face. "And what is that about a mission, brat?"

"ANBU work for your dad, quite confidential though," I answered, pausing to inhale a bit of my smoke—the taste swirling in my tongue. "But now I think about it, can I ask you a question?"

"Go on."

"Do you know why he asked me for it? There isn't any free jounin?"

Asuma though for some time and shrugged. "If I remember right, the strongest ones on the roster are away on missions. Kurenai is occupied in the Kurama clan household, Gai will only come back tonight or tomorrow, even I need to go and pack my things to lead a mission to the capital in an hour from now."

I scratched my chin and nodded, I didn't know that before.

"Kind of makes sense now if Kakashi is the most experienced one free tonight. I come with the package and all." I said, smiling and wagging my hand with the missing pinky—now a mess of bone, sinew, and veins which still was steaming. "Or maybe he just likes me that much."

"Dream on, brat," he said and punched my shoulder, then looked at his watch. "Well, I am kind of late, so I am off to my mission. See you, and work in that defense of yours."

"Sure, and good mission for you," I answered and got up, slapping the dust out of my pants.

I turned back to enter the forest, already planning to try a few attacks without the weights to better feel my enhanced strength when I heard him calling me again.

"Hey brat, catch!" Asuma suddenly yelled and I spun to his direction, catching whatever he threw to me by instinct. I opened my hand to see what it was and immediately sighed in exasperation—it was the finger that he had cut out. "And don't lose it again!"

* * *

I flipped my last grape to Natsumi's head to bring her out of that state of rapture.

After that, I began thinking if we could call a grape in the mindscape a mindgrape and voiced the thought. Natsumi gave me an annoyed stare and raised a dainty eyebrow at of the lame pun, looking at me in complete silence for some time.

Then she pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a loud sigh.

 **"Of all the humans… I swear, the sealing must have made me stark raving mad to mingle with the likes of yourself."** She despaired but didn't stop herself from caressing my hair.

I just smiled and snuggled in her lap—and what a damn fine lap it was.

Natsumi was seated on a couch inside the Mindscape's house and had me sprawled all over her legs. We were there watching a movie—lifted from her memories—together for some time for me to relax before the mission.

The film was awesome as hell, too. The main character, a muscled veteran soldier, was mowing down scores of people mercilessly with a thing spitting fire and little chunks of metal.

And his red bandanna was rather fabulous.

Natsumi, true to the norm, was almost drooling at the mindless carnage of the movie. It was like a child looking through a candy shop showcase in a very cute and very scary way.

I stretched my arms and nudged her. "What do you think about tonight's mission?"

 **"I think you need to buckle up and be watchful, the old monkey isn't known for being easy to alarm. He is too shrewd."** She answered, putting a finger under her lower lip.

I scratched my chin and looked to the roof, "Must be really something for him to come asking for more protection, he's the fucking Hokage after all. And—I can feel it, right there." I said and pointed to my heart. "Shit will be dumped in my head tonight."

Natsumi slapped my forehead and narrowed her eyes. **"While you are in my lap, I can assure you that it will not. I like my clothes clean, thank you very much,"** She said and laughed at her own little joke.

I gave a small smile and, even with the prospect of the oncoming mission still lingering around, I did my best to banish this kind of thoughts. With a yawn I raised myself from her lap and sat up at her side, embracing her with an arm.

Looking at her, my smile widened.

Even if she was still wiping out the remains of the grape of his forehead and giving me a heartbroken pout for it, I could only marvel at her beauty. How the fuck did my life become this good?

Dunno, really, must be something new in Konoha's water—perhaps good karma, even.

I just reveled in her presence and paid attention to the movie's ending. These moments when we could just sit and enjoy each other? I would treasure them forever. Even the unholy gleam in her eyes seeing blood and entrails flying around in the screen just endeared her to me. Somehow, I think that it wasn't painting a nice picture of my mental health.

Not that I gave the singlest of the fucks. After all, sanity is for the weak.

A sigh escaped from my lips when the credits began rolling—I knew then that it was almost the time for me to grace the real world with my presence again and it came too fast for my liking. Turning my head to Natsumi, I cupped her face and kissed her lips.

She wasted no time and threw one leg over mine, eagerly straddling me while our tongues came to play.

I put one hand in a creamy thigh with a light pressure and she growled huskily, biting my lower lip in answer. Accepting the wordless challenge, I began to deposit light kisses all around her neck and collarbone—her nails rough in the back of my head and shoulder, hungrily pushing me to her.

I was almost, almost losing myself in the feeling when that damned alarm clock rang. Loudly.

Fuckitty fuck fucking thing from hell. Without sparing a single glance at the damned thing, I growled and threw a fireball on it. The explosion after that was strangely uplifting.

Even after the interruption, the end of our make-out session came only with some effort from me. I could just imagine—and maybe cry curled in a corner—about the reason why my best kisses always needed to happen just that close to our goodbyes.

It was almost like a curse or something alike. Maybe I really should ask Jiji for a mission to the Fire Temple just to be sure.

Pecking her lips, I touched her forehead with mine and looked at these eyes I liked so much, highly disgruntled at the thought of separating myself from her. We stood like that in silence for some time, until I mustered all my self-control and gently pushed her leg out of me.

"Duty calls, Nat."

She huffed and closed her eyes. **"Let it call another ninja, then. They don't pay you enough to dismiss me."**

"They would need to throw a pay worthy of an S-rank mission multiple times over to have any hope of that," I said, caressing her cheek.

She began to run her hands over my chest and legs, then bit her lower lip—god, the allure of these soft touches was almost too big for me to refuse. Reluctantly, I held her wrists and shook my head looking at her pleading expression.

"Now, now, it's not easy for me either. Think about it, we continue until Jiji sends someone to call me—someone who certainly will be Kakashi. The asshat barges into my bedroom without knocking —because of course he will—and see me seated here, lotus pose and all."

I let her hands go and touched my thumbs with my index fingers.

Then I gave a beatific smile. "And when the motherfucker approaches me, he sees it… the raging boner that you made appear in my pants. He would be horrified, or..." I shook my head. "God, I hope he doesn't feel tempted—yuck, forget it. But nonetheless, he will run to the Hokage screaming that I am sexing the Kyuubi no Kit—"

She interrupted me with an uproarious laugh and threw a pillow at my head. I swiftly ducked it and began laughing too, my form already fading off the mindscape with each breath.

When we could calm ourselves again, she stood up and slapped my now ghostly ass, giving me a fleeting kiss on the lips. **"Go then, if you really need to. And please take care. Just because you have me and is** _ **the**_ **official chibi-bijū around there, it doesn't mean that you can't fall against someone."**

"Yeah. After all, I fell for you." I said, just to provoke her.

It worked—I really think the next pillow she threw broke the sound barrier.

* * *

The Konoha's Meeting Room was big as hell and felt twice as hot—maybe thrice if I had not put the Cooling Seal in my mask, as the windows were sealed to prevent eavesdroppers. The room needed to be that big, of course, because that was the only way to house The Table comfortably.

I couldn't even think about that thing without capitalizing the name. The Table was a monstrous thing made of wood and, perhaps, hate, created by the Shodaime Hokage with his Mokuton—and it was large enough to all the clan heads to be seated around it.

Worse, that thing was menacing—seriously, I swear it was glaring at me. Somehow.

There was an old history circulating around the ANBU people that the Shodaime used that aberration of nature in the Valley of the End to bash Madara Uchiha's head into kingdom come. Personally, I couldn't dispute that fact—if The Log was the god, The Table would be the devil.

Today was the meeting of the Clan Heads, so there wasn't a civil representative here—and thank god for that because, normally, the ninja side and the civilian side fought over The Table in a cold war. Trade agreements were the kunai and the merchant licenses the shuriken of these people.

Of course, it was utterly pointless.

Konoha worked under a military dictatorship and the shinobis were the enforcers of the Hokage's will. The civvies could talk a big game, but in everything that mattered? If the Hokage, Clan Heads, and the Elders said " _shit_ ", they could only answer by asking " _in what shape, sir?_ ".

They hadn't any power. The representatives were heard by the Hokage just because it's easier to compartmentalize the civilian mumbo-jumbo and let Jiji give his attention for the shinobi deals.

Seated by the Hokage's left, there was his Diplomatic Counselor, Hyuuga Hiashi—a tall, long-haired and pale-eyed man, who was undoubtedly machinating something in his little aristocratic head. The right was reserved by Uchiha Fugaku, the one responsible for the Police Force, who was strangely absent.

Very strange, the man was like a clockwork—never late and would rather die than ditch the meeting without an explanation.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio was cheerfully talking with each other without giving even the smallest of fucks about the proceedings, a fact of which Chouza Akimichi being conspicuously trying and failing to hide a laugh was proof enough.

Tsume Inuzuka, a beautiful, feral and wild haired woman, was our only proverbial MILF here. She was absentmindedly petting his huge dog, and you can trust me—when I say huge, is Huge with a capital "h". That monster was taller than my waist and, better yet, was wearing an _eyepatch of power_.

Coolest dog ever.

The mummy man, Shimura Danzo, was seated in his corner and expressing his usual level of emotion at the meeting—which was none—while the two old saggy fellows around him were clearly busy being old in silence.

Jiji was simply puffing his pipe without any real reaction while Hiashi droned about something happening in Nami no Kuni.

Properly humbled by the concentration of the finest crop of Konohagakure's leaders, I was looking with a shifting eye to the Icha Icha Paradise edition which Kakashi had sagely disguised as an ANBU tactics manual.

I fought the urge to scratch my neck. 'Can you even raise your leg like—'

 **"Naruto, I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune. I can do anything."**

I shifted in my stance a little. Strange—has my uniform always been tight like this?

Anyway, ANBU couldn't give his identities away while on the job and Icha Icha was Kakashi's obvious trademark—he walked around reading it all the damn time. He corrected the fault in his disguise by making almost a form of art out of reading his porn while on the clock.

Our elite jounin was a crafty one, indeed.

Finally, the Hokage began paying the barest amount of attention possible at the procedures and discussions to try and find a common ground between them. The need of doing this diplomatically firmly cemented hokagedom for me as the worst job ever—because if that hat was mine, I already would be kicking faces and taking names.

"We need to talk about that boy, Uzumaki Naruto." Hyuuga Hiashi suddenly declared.

I perked up hearing this. I didn't know about Hiashi that much, but I had been a good friend of his daughter for a long time.

Hinata, god bless her bleeding heart, was the sweetest thing ever and the only reason that I paid some shred of attention at the Academy. Although she had a background of nobility, Hinata was very humble and kind to a fault—even if my and my clones behavior was obnoxious at best for shit and giggles, she never had harbored any notable prejudice or contempt against me.

I had spent some time with him after class and, in these times, I just invited her to eat something and talk a little bit. She always gave me a nice smile and accompanied me to wherever I was going, happy like I was calling her to the best party ever.

For her truly caring personality and spirit, I liked her very much. Yet, for what I knew about Hiashi, I certainly didn't like him very much—he wasn't all that of a shitty father in my conception, just very absent and desperately wanting Hinata to be strong. His methods, however, were... well, let's say unorthodox at best.

Hinata said to me that he wasn't a bad man, just tied by the Clan Elders and their traditions since the death of his brother and wife. It was a whole can of worms that I wasn't too keen in opening anytime soon, so I just tried to gave her courage and support while I could.

It kind of worked—she was times and times more confident now than when I meet her for the first time, which was good, but there was a long way to go still.

 **"You know, when she develops a bit more… you should tap that."**

I almost choked on my own spit.

'What the fuck?! I thought that people in relationships didn't do things like that!'

Natsumi laughed. **"Silly boy, I'm not** _ **people**_ **, and think about it—your real heritage as an Uzumaki will be revealed when you become chunin, then you** _ **will**_ **need to marry someone. You can't just come out of the woodwork saying 'sorry, people, I am already with Natsumi—you know her? The Nine Tailed Fox who ate half of the village'."**

'But, I-'

 **"Don't delude yourself, you belong to me** _ **forever—**_ **yet, you still need a human wife. She is the only one I could accept anything resembling a compromise, and there's the thing, the political power that comes with her is nothing to sniff at,"** her voice lowered to a whisper, like her lips were close to my ear. **"If you indeed claim the girl, she would be mine too… and Naruto, I am a greedy, greedy vixen."**

I shook my head and decided to think more about it after the mission's conclusion. I felt like an idiot—of course, Natsumi wasn't even remotely human in her thoughts. I was fucking dumb to still be surprised with it.

Deciding to pay attention to the people presently talking shit about me, I heard an answer for the Hyuuga coming from Koharu Utatane, one of the Elders.

"What about him? I saw his results of Academy—the boy is average at best."

Hiashi looked at her. "Yes, as the situation is now, he's nothing of note— and that's exactly the root of the present problem. Humor me about it, Koharu-san, why does the so called jinchūriki even exist in the first place?"

Hiashi stippled his fingers together under his chin, waiting for an answer.

"Shodaime-sama rounded the bijū and gave it to the villages to maintain the peace, they were supposed to be deterrents for war and the biggest weapons in these wars," she said. "Then there is the matter of the Kyuubi's attack..."

Hiashi nodded, then he began speaking again.

"They are weapons, indeed. We have them for utilization in the military of the village, to defend us and put pressure on our enemies—those like the boy are assets, powerful assets, who can seize the demon's powers and use that to great effect. I can remember a time in the third great war when I saw one of them fighting— one of the Cloud, if my memory serves me right," Hiashi made a gesture at himself. "I am a proud man," sure, and water is wet, "but I have no shame in saying that I was greatly impressed."

"I am failing to see your point, Hiashi-san," Jiji said, his posture cautious.

"My point is— simply put, the boy is useless as he is now. I saw his grades in the Academy and they are… dreadful, to say the least. Even in light of the new standards of education in the village that enable our sons and daughters graduate with fourteen years instead of twelve like before, in times of war," he gave the clan heads a pointed look. "But I have a proposition to correct it and mold him in what he needs to be."

"And what proposition would be that?" the Hokage's tone was polite, but I had a feeling that he knew exactly what it would be.

"I want to take him in the Hyuuga clan as our honored guest and train him. We need our weapon to be primed and ready to lay waste to our enemies, and my clan, the strongest of Konoha, can put him on the correct path for that," the clan heads looked at him with wide eyes. "With us, he can be made in the weapon that we—no, the village, needs him to be."

One, two, three… go.

The yelling began, every one of the clan heads calling the proposal—being a jinchūriki is power, raw and untamed, and giving me to a clan would enable this clan in controlling the village's weapon of mass destruction.

What a lovely bunch.

Jiji only needed to raise a hand to calm the discussion. He gave me a glance with the corner of his eye and turned to the clan heads, his face serious for the first time in the meeting.

"I refuse," the Hokage said. "You know, Hiashi-sama, that I can not and will not _give_ Naruto-kun to be under the aegis of a single clan, as it would upset the balance of power in the village. And about your fears about his ineptitude, I assure you, I am—"

The Hokage speech was interrupted by an explosion coming from the village.

"What the fu—" I bolted from my position, kunai in hand, and opened the window. Everyone got up from their seats, ready for battle, and the Hyuuga was the first to be next to me with his Byakugan blazing.

A plume of smoke was rising from the village and fire illuminated the night sky. Before I could extend my senses to feel where the conflagration was, however, Hiashi turned back to the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, it's the Police Force headquarters," he said with a millimetric frown.

Everyone stilled in their positions before they ran to the window to confirm it. Jiji himself was preparing himself to restore some semblance of order when someone suddenly barged inside the room in a desperate run.

It was a chunin whose name I didn't know the identity, but his face just screamed "Uchiha". He was pale as a piece of chalk, with bloody gashes all over his official flak jacket and a kunai handle-deep inside his back. He stumbled in, falling to a knee and supporting himself in a chair.

Jiji ran to the man and put an arm around his shoulders, trying to decipher what the hell he was mumbling about.

The expression in the Hokage's face when he looked at us, especially me, was grim and burning with some fierce anger that I seldom saw there—shit was hitting the fan with gusto and in insane amounts to made Jiji pissed like that.

The air grew tense and his words appeared to be echoing in the chamber.

"Uchiha Itachi began a killing spree in the Uchiha Compound."

After this ominous declaration, the chunin began convulsing and fell to the floor.

Well, crap.

His tone didn't allow for any complaint when he began issuing orders. "Inu, please alert the ANBU and jounins to the threat and go help with the Police Force," then the room shook with more explosions, "and whatever has exploded just now."

Kakashi nodded briskly and left in a leaf shunshin.

The Hokage's jaw was set, a scowl firmly placed on his face "I will go and deal with Uchiha Itachi myself."

The room shook again, now with yelling and objections as every ninja here began to try and change the mind of the Hokage about his decision.

"Hokage-sama, you can't—"

"It's too dangerous, please let us—"

Mitokado Homura always had been a quiet person, so in the times he raised his voice, you had better stop and listen. "Hiruzen, don't be foolish! It is probably a trap, you can't be seriously thinking about—"

"Enough."

Jiji didn't raise his voice, he did worse. He let his careful grasp on his chakra slip and everyone in the room felt the full power of the Sandaime Hokage pressing down their shoulders. The air grew cold and heavy, as was the fury etched in the old man's face.

"Everyone here seems to be laboring under the misconception that I was _asking for permission,_ " Jiji said in a quiet voice. "Everyone here seems to be forgetting who, in truth, I really am."

He took his hat off and put it in The Table—I saw that his knuckles were white from the strength of his grip on it. He looked at all of us pointedly, a steely glint present in his eyes.

"I am Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage and Konohagakure and the successor of Hashirama-sensei and Tobirama-sensei. I am The Professor. I can't be trapped—at least not any more than you can trap what I am representing, as I am the leader, commander and sworn protector of my village. I will not sit idle and let someone do my work while a misguided youth is out here," his presence shut up everyone in the room and I straightened my posture subconsciously. "All of you need to go and organize your clans. See if they aren't being attacked, and protect them—while I protect the village, as my duty commands."

All of the shinobis in the room nodded as one.

"It seems that young Itachi has lost his Will of Fire. Then, as the Hokage, I need to go and educate him about what happens when you try to harm someone in _my_ village," Jiji said and, without giving time to anyone to the react, he began walking to the door. "Besides, even if I truly am old, I am never alone—no, my Will of Fire still burns. No matter wherever I go, I always carry the trust of the village with me."

With these words, he stopped the flow of his chakra and the air cleared again. I exhaled a calming breath, still looking at him and waiting for my orders—and they came, as Jiji paused in the doorstep and, without looking, raised a hand.

"Kitsune, you are with me," he commanded. "Let us take the cover of the night to the Uchiha Compound and set it alight with the full fury of the Leaf Village, as your Hokage commands."

I clenched my jaw and nodded, quickly walking behind him.

Thinking about the probability of an upcoming confrontation with the prized scion of that pink-eyed clan, I began wondering—maybe I should take The Table with me to honor our Shodaime's tradition of smashing Uchiha's skulls into a fine powder with it.

Sighing and shaking my head at the idea, I followed Jiji. His shadow was cast over me, looking as a giant amongst men, and in that moment I almost pitied Uchiha Itachi. Sarutobi Hiruzen was coming, and his Will of Fire would scorch the heavens.

And I? I am Uzumaki Naruto, a shinobi under his command.

I touched the thin, feminine, and red braided cord I was using as a bracelet—to remember, to remember what I needed to do and to never forget it—her. I almost winced again as I remembered her face.

I would do my duty.

* * *

 **Uzumaki Naruto — Psychological Profile**

 _Written by Dr. Ochi, ANBU Veteran — Unit 30, GSWII._

 _Date: 05/02/95_

 _Overview_

As I first met the subject, Uzumaki Naruto displayed no signs of abnormality for a ten years old boy—matter of factly, he seemed to be just an upstanding future ninja, who valued his comrade lives and had a strong desire to be, in his words, _"the best one there is"_. Further interview, however, offered me a better understanding of his character.

Uzumaki Naruto, first and foremost, has no loyalty to Konohagakure no Sato. Furthermore, he has bonds worthy mentioning to only a few people in the village—including an undisclosed one (for more information refer to addendum #1).

Worse yet—he regards almost every civilian in the village as expendable.

The subject's morality is, without a doubt, completely different from the norm. I have not collected enough data to fully confirm this hypothesis yet, but in my personal opinion, I think the subject doesn't even see himself as a human being—an attitude commonly documented in other jinchūrikis around the globe, especially the ones who are in contact with their bijuu.

I came to understand this as he answered the standardized questions of situational behavior. He displayed a consistent mindset in every one of them. About the questions which proposed a choice between saving the life of someone he likes compared to the village or innocents, he said he would save the life of the people he cared about, despite the civilian losses, in all of them. Every single time.

When I asked him about whoever these people were, he became suddenly defensive. His body language abruptly shifted to a guarded stance and he tensed to fight. At least until I managed to assure him I wouldn't do anything against them—and was working under the personal orders of Hokage-sama.

They are, as listed.

Sarutobi Hiruzen — Sandaime Hokage.

Hyuuga Hinata — Heiress of the Hyuuga Clan.

Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku — Civilian proprietaries of a popular ramen stand.

A fifth unnamed one — He began to say something, but promptly silenced himself and every further attempt to unveil this secret has been met with failure. (See addendum #1)

 **Conclusion** : the subject is judged **unfit** for duty.

If my suggestion is disregarded due to extenuating circumstances (the matter of the subject being a jinchūriki), I strongly suggest to put him in a single cell with a sensei that can relate to him and develop a bond, so he can be restrained to a degree by his own emotional dependency.

 **(Addendum #1 — Entrance Examination '95)** The unnamed person is, bar none, the only one that commands his full loyalty. Any questions about choosing between this person live against others was met with him firmly choosing him/her. Even against the _full_ populace of the Elemental Nations—who would die by his own hands in the hypothesis—he still sided with the unnamed one.

He displayed distress in answering the queue, and in a spirit of my analysis, I asked him what his answer would be if he could save this person _and_ all the ones he said he cared for. He instantly brightened and requested me to stop asking what he judged to be _"idiotic"_ questions.

 **(Addendum #2 — 3rd year in service '98)** Uzumaki Naruto, despite my recommendations and initial evaluation, became a valuable operative of the ANBU unit under the command of Hatake Kakashi, with who he developed a strong bond. His mindset still is, though, completely unchanged—bar the fact that the subject developed a great liking of battles and an eagerness about fighting. He, too, developed an unfettered outlook about the act of killing—which reflects his way of thinking, which I explained beforehand.

 **(Addendum #3 — 4th year in service '99)** I conducted the standardized psychological test of Uzumaki Naruto—now fourteen years old—after the incident on the village of Aogashima. His fondness about combat and the characteristics I mentioned above are unchanged, but in a new development, the subject displayed an absolute hatred about rapists and, I quote— _"these_ [redacted] _sissies who prey on the weak because they were too weak themselves to fight the strong"_.

For further understanding, refer to Kakashi Hatake's report about the elimination and rescue mission which developed in Aogashima's village, near the north border of the Land of Fire, and the actions taken by the subject there.


	3. Chapter 3 — The Massacre

**Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue; I do not own, so please don't sue.**

* * *

 **Chapter Three  
The Massacre  
**

Look—I saw some pretty shitty things in my life before that day. People dying left and right, corpses were strewn all over the floor, blood coating every surface possible—and more. The point being, I never had been one to go angsty and horrified about a little murder here and there.

Yet, Itachi's handwork took the cake and ate it.

I and the Hokage arrived at the Uchiha Compound in silence with a shunshin, bypassing the gates. The first thing I took notice was the smell—the stench of death, coming from all around us in waves, was overpowering. Especially to someone with my senses. I looked to Jiji, who was studying the destruction with a cold, detached look.

"Naruto-kun, if you please," he said and made a wide gesture to the compound before us. I didn't need to ask what he was requesting of me, not with fire raging everywhere even as we spoke.

"Are you sure, Jiji?" I still asked, just to be certain. "If I do it, he will know we are here."

The Hokage fixed me with a stare—and just with that, I knew the error of my ways. The look on his face was cold, yes, but it was a cold _rage._ Jiji wasn't detached, Jiji wasn't calm, The Hokage's rage had got through the threshold of raised voices and promises of pain—now, the best words to describe it would be tranquil fury.

"We are long past the point of being inconspicuous, Naruto-kun," Jiji's voice didn't betray his emotions. "I want Itachi to know we are coming—to witness the consequences brought to him by his misdeeds. I want him to know we already cried havoc and let slip the dogs of war."

He turned away and looked back to the carnage in the compound. The flames devouring the house next to us were reflected on his black armor and the metal of hitai-ate wrapped around his forehead. The Hokage didn't come unprepared in the slightest.

"Even in times of peace, a Hokage doesn't go to battle unannounced," Jiji said. "Do it."

I never complied with an order faster in my life.

I took my mask out and hung it on my belt, then closed my eyes and reached for my chakra—and almost instantly, I felt the raw power coursing through my body. Making me feel _alive._ I extended my senses, putting power laced with my own will all around me—searching, spreading, until I felt all of the flames alight on the compound.

The biggest inferno, the smallest sparks, the dying embers—I knew all of them.

Then I held my hand up and called them to me.

The fire answered—I didn't even need my eyelids open to see it. A vortex of flames came from every point of the compound, spiraling and roaring in my direction. The fire circled my body, almost like it was caressing my skin—then compressed itself and concentrated in a ball above my outstretched hand.

It didn't let even a stray spark go away when I closed my hand and snuffed it out.

I opened my eyes and turned back to the Hokage. "Done, Jiji."

"Good, Naruto-kun," he said, smiling to me. "Now, try to find any survivor while I make my final preparations for the fight we will be part of."

"Sure," I nodded and fell on my butt, crossing my legs. I closed my eyes again—and again, I focused. This time, I wasn't searching for my element, no, I was concentrating on my senses—willing chakra to my ears and nose to fine tune their already formidable reach.

I regretted it almost instantly.

Did you know you can smell death? It has a distinctive scent—a mix between sweet and metallic, but not being neither one exactly. And everything in the compound simply _reeked_ of it.

I heard Jiji two or three meters to my side executing his Kuchiyose no Jutsu to summon the Monkey King, Enma. I heard people falling while they bodies spasmed and smelled the blood coming from their wounds. I smelled smoke and flesh burning while buildings crumbled. I heard—

I heard a _scream_.

"Jiji!" I jumped back to my feet, but the Old Man was already moving—Enma in staff form firmly grasped in his hands. I followed him at breakneck speeds through the streets, jumping a corpse here and there while going fast as I could in the direction of the sound. I tried to imagine what was happening—morbid curiosity, maybe—but I didn't need to.

I finally saw the perpetrator of these atrocities here. Right here. And he wasn't alone.

Uchiha Itachi was standing tall in the street ahead of us, holding a raven haired woman—his mother, if I could recall correctly—by the neck. Sasuke was lying on the floor, bleeding from the forehead, while Itachi Sharingan eyes were blazing in the darkness. A bloodied sword was in his hands, preparing for the final blow.

I remembered what I knew about Uchiha Itachi—and it wasn't nice.

The man was a killing machine—created in the bowels of Konoha's ANBU and tempered in battle. In the headquarters, we talked about the deeds of the captain Weasel in hushed tones and never to his face. There was a time when I saw him sparring against four of the better soldiers I knew.

He was doing it without even a sign of strain on his face and completely at ease.

Itachi was simply that good.

He wielded his Sharingan like a lesser man did with kunais, nothing more than a tool for him to use and wasn't in any shape or form limited by his ocular prowess. He swiftly dodged out of every attack, striking back in a grace and brutality which I could only recall as inhuman.

And now he was here, in front of me with a woman in his hands.

People would call me a fool for the stunt I was planning to pull—hell, even I would call myself that. Even then, I couldn't bear the sign of him ready to slay a defenseless woman just like that. Too many bad memories in my head to allow me to.

So, in these split-seconds, I reacted in the only form I knew—raw violence.

I moved before the Hokage could say anything. I shoot like a kunai straight in the direction of that coward, the ground under me cracking with each step I took and my speed rising by the second. He couldn't react fast enough to stop me—even his famed genjutsus were useless against me.

My chakra _burns_ everything—even his if he tried to put me in a genjutsu.

I jumped in his direction with my arm primed to a punch. "Fuck the hell off!"

It worked. My punch connected to his face and blasted him away—the force strong enough to blow the dust and leaves in the ground around me. Itachi's body sailed through what remained of the walls of some houses, destroying them in a hail of rubble and rolling over the opposite street

I could barely catch the woman before the Hokage appeared between me and Itachi, standing proudly with his chin raised and weapon ready. The meaning was clear—it was his fight, not mine. At least for now.

"Naruto, take these two to the hospital," Jiji ordered. He ignored my _hai_ of answer and I could see his shoulders squaring before he addressed our enemy. His voice echoed through the night, full of authority and every inch the leader of my village. "Uchiha Itachi! What madness possessed you to do what you did?"

Jiji didn't need to shout—tone was low and menacing, with cold fury present in each wrinkle of his aged face and he had a vice grip around the staff, strong enough to make his knuckles white.

Itachi merely stood up, dusting himself and looking at us like we were just a bunch of pesky annoyances on his way. Even if a trickle of blood caused by my punch was still dripping from the corner of his mouth, he looked completely unfazed by my attack.

"I needed to test my power, Hokage-sama," Itachi's voice betrayed no emotion whatsoever—dead as his fellow clansmen. "It' truly disgusting. How weak were these fools in their arrogance."

His eyes flashed in my direction and I thought that I saw some signal of emotion burning here for barely a second—just before it died, as soon as it had appeared.

"And Hokage-sama?" Itachi whispered, wiping the blood from his mouth and scratching a line in his headband with a kunai. "You can take this as my resignation."

Jiji didn't answer him with words—instead, he charged with an enraged snarl. In a feat of speed, Itachi brought out another kunai from his belt and crossed it with the one he was already holding, blocking the end of the staff coming at his face.

They began trading attacks in an onslaught of violence, the Hokage coming from left and right with his greater reach and the Uchiha deflecting or dodging every strike. The staff clashed with the blades repeatedly, with sparks flying from the collisions and each of them sounding stronger than the previous one.

I wanted to see—to help, but I couldn't. I had a job to do.

I swung the unconscious woman over my shoulder and jumped in Sasuke's direction, putting him under my arm. I gave the fight a last look and turned back, ducking under a piece of debris and running away from them fast as I could.

It was my first error that night.

Itachi knew the Kage Bunshin—how couldn't he, as he had even improved the technique with his Bunshin Daibakuha? I saw something flashing in the air and reacted by instinct. I jumped out of the way and taking some steps back. It was him—not him, exactly, but a clone, and he was coming against me.

Normally, I would deal with a mere clone handily enough, but I couldn't do that there. I was holding two people and had no time to drop them. So I did the best I thought of—I dodged. I ducked, swayed and spun with each blow the clone sent on my way.

"Shit," I cursed under my breath. He was pressing me back and I just couldn't do _anything._

While our deadly dance continued, I heard sounds of things smashing and crashing—jutsus, probably—where Jiji was fighting the original Itachi. Dust clouds were raised and sounds like beats of a war hammer dominated the night. Then, I committed my second error in that night.

I was distracted.

Itachi's kunai made contact with my flesh, tearing a gash in my belly with a sweeping horizontal motion. It broke my rhythm. I tried to retreat, but he exacted the first blood of our fight and came after me like a shark after tasting blood in the water. I only evaded his attacks for barely a hairsbreadth after that.

I had a decision to do, I could let those two I was holding fall to the floor—and risk Itachi catching them and doing god knows what, or I could—

"Boy!" someone shouted. "Get away!"

I complied more by instinct than rational thought. I jumped away from Itachi—right in time to see a ball of fire with the size of a house speeding to where I was. The clone hadn't time nor chakra to defend himself before the fireball engulfed him completely, dispelling him and tearing a crater in the ground with the power of the explosion.

I turned back to whoever had helped me and my eyes widened.

Uchiha Fugaku, the proud clan head of the Uchiha Clan, jumped down the roof. He wasn't in his best form—not even close. A gash in his chest was staining his Police Force uniform with a dark red and he had a bit of a limp in his steps. I met his gaze for a moment before his eyes swerved back to his wife and son in my arms.

"How are they?" Fugaku asked.

"I managed to push Itachi away from his mother fast enough," I answered. "The wound in Sasuke's forehead is still bleeding, but I can hear their heartbeats and—what?!" my eyes widened. "Fugaku, I think—"

He silenced me with a gesture and shook his head. Like he didn't want to risk me saying that out loud. I felt kind of dumb, it's obvious he would know—he was married to her, after all.

"Good," he said and walked next to me, his eyes not even once leaving the forms of his last remaining family. He extended a hand and carefully, so carefully I could swear he thought he would break, ruffled Sasuke's hair. "Good."

I didn't say anything. It was his moment. He touched the woman's cheek and smiled—a small smile, but the first one I ever saw on his face. I waited like that for a second or two, before something roared in the horizon and the sound of a building coming down broke the spell and brought us back to the reality.

Fugaku took a deep breath. "Uzumaki, I know I never did anything for you and I don't know what you are doing with an ANBU uniform here, but-"

"I was taking a walk around here," I said. Something exploded far away and he raised an eyebrow in a silent question, but I just shrugged my shoulders. "A _very_ enthusiastic walk."

"Boy, now isn't the time! You hear me now," he said and looked right in my eyes. "Get them away from here safely—I would do it myself, but I am wounded and slowed down. Make them get out of this night alive."

It wasn't an order from one of the most powerful men of the village—not even close to that, no. It was just a father and a husband asking me to save his family because he couldn't do it himself. With what else could I answer him with? I just nodded.

Somehow, he knew it was promise enough.

Strange man. In another life, we could have been friends.

"I need to go," I said, verifying my grip around the two. "What will you do now?"

Fugaku didn't answer at first. Instead, righted himself and looked in the direction of the fight raging on—it wasn't too hard to pinpoint that either. Itachi and Jiji were already doing a number in that compound. When he answered, his voice was firm and hard as steel.

"My son did that—he did all that and then he tried to kill Mikoto and Sasuke. His own blood. My own blood," he said through gritted teeth, his Sharingans flashing red. "As I clearly failed to do that in his infancy, it's my duty to teach him some measure of respect now."

He picked up a kunai from his pouch and tensed, preparing himself to speed toward the fight that could pretty much be his last one—he was already wounded enough for it, even with the Hokage on his corner. Before he disappeared in a shunshin, however, he looked back to me.

"Farewell, boy," he said. The leader of an almost dead clan, going back to the battle of his life with his head held right and without fear. "Thank you for helping them."

He vanished in a swirl of leaves before I could answer.

I stared at the spot he had been for a second more, then shook my head and shoot away for the hospital. The world around me diluted in a blur with the speed I was going, but I still pressed for more. I ran for maybe a minute, maybe two, until I reached the hospital next to the compound.

I opened the doors with a kick and saw the flurry of movement. It was a busy night, what about all the explosions and all. Even then, everyone stopped to look at me when I entered, but I paid no mind to them and walked to the nearer ANBU on guard.

"You!" I yelled, practically shoving Sasuke on his arms. "Code fifty-two! Take me to a free bed and someone on this goddamned building call a fucking medic! The next clan head and the heir of the Uchiha clan are here, you fools!"

I could see his eyes wide behind the mask when he grabbed Sasuke. I switched Mikoto's body to a bridal carry and saw him making some signals to the man behind the balcony, breaking into a brisk step. I followed him without saying a word and looked down to the woman in my arms.

I would be a liar if I said she wasn't beautiful. Creamy skin contrasting with a hair dark as the night, blissfully unaware of what was happening around her. I couldn't smell any blood on her, so she probably was unharmed, but the interesting thing was what I heard from her.

Two hearts beating inside the same body.

There were two options here. Or the Uchiha clan had begun a program to create some mutants, or the woman was pregnant. I swallowed the bile on the back of my throat, she was pregnant—and Itachi tried to kill her. His own mother, with his sister or his brother inside her belly. If I didn't already loathe that man for what he did, it would surely make me.

I didn't pay attention to whatever the ANBU on duty was saying to the medic, who looked at me with a worried frown. I put Mikoto on the nearer bed and pushed him to the side.

"Take care of her! The woman is pregnant," I whispered.

His frown deepened, but he nodded nonetheless. Dusting my hands together, I looked at the ANBU, my fingers clicking on the mask hung from my belt. The man had a Tanuki mask—one which I didn't know the owner. He got the message fast enough and began making gestures in the coded language we used on the force.

Forces spread through Konoha as the Hokage ordered. Orders to retrieval the possible victims. Orders to guard the clan compounds, hospital, orphanage and the civilian area under the command of Dragon. Kakashi trying to organize the jounins.

No backup to the Hokage. No more than me, at least for the foreseeable future.

I gave him a thumbs up and turned to run back to the compound again, but a voice interrupted me.

"N-Naruto? Is—is that you?"

Well, shit—wait. How the fuck did she know my name? I turned back to see the one calling me and saw Uchiha Mikoto, trying to right herself on her bed with her elbows, despite the fussing of the medic-nin, and embracing her belly with her arms. She looked frail, with a dead look in her eyes. I felt a need to try and comfort her.

"Yes?" I answered, trying to sound as if I didn't need to go away fucking _now._

"What… what are you doing here? What happened? What—my son! Where is he?"

I walked back to her bed and caught her hand, trying to calm her out of her frenetic questions. I put the kindest tone I could in my voice and looked her in the eyes—a thing which, looking in retrospect, was kind of dumb. The last thing she saw must have been the red color of Itachi's Sharingan and now my own ones.

"Itachi is still alive, Jiji is fighting him with your husband o the compound," I shook my head. "I need to go back and help, now, but Sasuke is there and alive," I pointed to the bed next to her, and she calmed down visibly when he saw the still form of her youngest son lying here. Still breathing despite the coagulated blood on his face. "Look, I—I need to go back and help the old man. Just please stay here and let them treat you and your son, yes? I swear I will come back later."

She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something more, but closed it with a click and nodded to me, giving a small but grateful smile. I gave another smile in answer and backed off, my jaw set at the prospect of coming back to the battle waiting for me.

The last thing I heard before I disappeared in a Shunshin was Mikoto slapping the medic-nin hands away from her and shouting to him to heal Sasuke, with an absolute non-nonsense tone and the bed sheets falling to the ground as she got up to be at his bedside.

 **"You know,"** Natsumi said, talking for the first time that night. **"We should revise our opinion about these Uchiha people one of these days. At least if Fugaku and his wife are anything to go by."**

That was something I could agree entirely.

* * *

"Susano'o!"

Time appeared to stop when I came back to the fight.

They had moved the battle to the gardens at the center of the compound. Trenches were carved along all the way I ran back there, houses shattered, the pavement broken and debris scattered all around. It was like a hurricane had ravaged through the compound—but I knew the truth about it.

I knew it was just collateral damage of Jiji and Fugaku Uchiha fighting Uchiha Itachi.

The same Uchiha Itachi that had his father's body hanging from the blade of a shaking sword—maybe even shaking from excitement—while Fugaku bleed freely, with his chest completely run through. The same Uchiha Itachi that, somehow, summoned an ethereal skeleton around himself to defend Jiji's attack.

What happened was obvious. Fugaku, wounded as he was, tried to do a last gambit to give Jiji an opening to attack Itachi, but didn't account for that skeleton—what did Itachi call it again? Susa-something maybe—and paid for it with his life. While Jiji smattering of Earth Bullets shattered against the translucent orange bone.

I needed to act.

Some people think I can only burn things. They are wrong. I focused my will on my chakra—hell if I would let that man die for nothing—and hardened it. Harder than metal, sharper than any kunai, and stronger than steel.

A red glow illuminated the night as wisps of light surrounded my right hand.

I have said that before—chakra is composed of Yin and Yang. Spirit and physical power together, and mine is no different. While my Yin, the spiritual form of my chakra, is fire—both metaphorically and literally—the Yang part is a gift from my mother. A gift which further mutated on me because of Natsumi's presence.

Adamantine.

"Hey, Suzie!" I shouted, extending my open palm to Itachi and his guardian. "Get over here!"

A multitude of chains—all of them of a dark crimson, with an eerie red glow—burst from the palm of my stretched hand. It was the power of the royal Uzumaki line's blood—solid chakra, shaped by will alone, yet they could only do chains before. With me? It changed. I can make it adopt any form, any weapon, and any construct.

It was Uzumaki Kushina's heritage, still alive and kicking with me.

The chains constrained the skeleton arm with a vice grip. I planted my feet on the ground and sent more chains to the other arm, the material of that thing screeching as the chains pressed around it. With a roar and feeling my muscles bulging under the strain, I yanked the monster to face me.

Jiji got the message. Itachi eyes widened a fraction of a centimeter.

Creating a Kage Bushin without a hand seal, the old Hokage—his armor broken, scratched and bloody on some parts—crashed the end of his staff into the ground and flew through hand signs. I don't need to use hand signs, so I am kind of rusty—but I recognized the sequence. A collaboration jutsu between Doton: Earth and Stone Dragon and Katon: Fire Dragon.

He inhaled deeply, then Jiji and his clone spat a torrent of fire, earth, and stone. The elements mixed, swirling, before both coalesced in the shape of an enormous dragon made of stone and set alight with an internal fire. It howled in the night and speeded to Itachi's direction.

To be exact, the direction of the skeleton exposed back.

Itachi saw it, too, and I saw blood drip from his eyes as the skeleton gave an unearthly growl and two more arms appeared under the ones I was pulling. The aberration heaved mightily with a force I never saw before, managing to turn enough to defend Itachi—barely—with his ghostly arms.

Fool. I knew why Jiji used that technique—and he used it because of _me._

Before the dragon could crash against the guardian, I extended my will and dominated the fire raging inside him—chaining it to my mind, to my power. The flames turned to a bright blue and separated from the main body as I guided them with a movement of my free hand.

The second dragon, solely made of Fire Release and further enhanced by me, arched above Itachi and came down, engulfing him in an enormous column of fire as the one made of stone and earth clashed uselessly against the guardian's arms.

A charred circle of grass extended around him as the fire died down.

It wasn't enough, but I wouldn't let him rest. With a burst of speed, I ran next to him as the fire and punched the skeleton's ribcage with all my strength. A creaking sound echoed around the garden as my fist made contact, the earth shattering around me because of the strength of the punch. Then another. And another one. My fist was just centimeters from him.

I needed just a bit more.

But I ran out of time. As the monster heaved a hand to slap me away, I rolled back and sent more chains with my free hand to his two other arms, just as Jiji leaped through me with his staff in hand. I used my shoulder as leverage for the chains and _pushed._

All the four arms came down just in time for Jiji staff to cave the skeleton's head in.

The construct stumbled while the Hokage bashed it two times more before jumping out of his reach. Itachi, however, didn't show even a shred of fear—instead, he made a ram seal and these phantasmagorical limbs went still.

I couldn't understand what he was doing until Natsumi voice resonated through my mind.

 **"Naruto!"** her voice was frantic. **"Look down!"**

I obeyed and discovered why Itachi was calm like that.

"Oh, fuck."

A bunch of explosive tags were smoking under my feet and I saw sparks of the ignition of more and more coming from all around the Center Gardens. That motherfucker—that shrewd, smart motherfucke—

The tags detonated with a deafening boom. Look—I am fine with heat alone, but the kinetic energy liberated by an Explosive Tag in number enough to intimidate Jiji's pile of paperwork was like Might Guy attacking punching each inch of my body simultaneously.

The bastard put shrapnel inside them too.

I shot through the air like a stray kunai and couldn't feel anything under my right kneecap, just the shrapnel cutting my face and skin. I barreled through the walls of one, two, three, four houses and dug a trench of tens of meters on the ground before I hit a street lamp and stopped with a sickly creaking sound.

A cloud of dust prevented me to see anything or identify Itachi and Jiji. I felt blood on my throat and spat it to the side, blinking the dizziness out of my eyes to see what happened with my leg.

Then I looked at it—or, more precisely, the absence of it.

I didn't have a right leg anymore.

The knee was torn apart, everything under my kneecap resembling a bunch of minced meat lumped together and putting off steam as my healing factor kicked into overdrive. I tried my best to ignore it. I took a deep breath and righted my back against the lamppost—and then slowly, but surely, I began getting up. My spine clicked with each movement, going back into place, while hairline fractures in my bones melded together.

I created a crutch from my chakra to support me and, when I finally got up, the dust had settled enough for me to see the results of the explosion. The square was reduced to a smoking crater and Jiji was near the center, the remains of whatever Doton Jutsu he used to protect himself scattered around him.

And a giant ghost arm engulfing his body.

And right at his side, was Uchiha Itachi. Visibly panting inside his construct but, otherwise, completely unharmed by the explosion. I understood his plan—he prepared the terrain beforehand, stacking the odds in his favor even with me and the Hokage together here.

He never intended to use that monster to take us down, he summoned it just to protect himself and stalled for time until we were in the perfect position for him to unleash the bombs.

"Holy shit, how durable is this thing?" I spat more blood on the ground. "Thank you, Nat."

 **"No thanks needed, someone needs to be looking out for your sorry ass."**

I didn't answer her, because that was the exact moment my spine ran cold. After the confusion dissipated from my senses, I could see Jiji clearly under that grip—his armor creaked and the staff pressing against his body as he tried to free himself.

Itachi made a ram seal again.

An orange column of energy shoot around him, blowing the debris away while the colossus _shifted._ It was like seeing my own regeneration at work. Muscles began circling the skeleton and he developed a more distinct appearance—and a sword. A fucking huge sword, bigger than me, coming out from something like a jar of sake.

I tried to put my weight on my bad leg—just to almost fall to the ground. couldn't do anything. I couldn't send a chain fast enough, or blast him with fire enough to stop that monster without burning Jiji too. Itachi could squish him like a grape if I did nothing.

Rage rose inside me. Who the fuck this bastard thought he was? If he did—if he killed Jiji, I decided to make sure he wouldn't come out of this fight alive. Even if it did kill me. My leg was now a mass of sinew, veins, and bone, with muscle filling the spaces left, but I didn't give a fuck. As I decided, Adamantine circled and got through the misshapen appendage—a grid of chakra solid as steel interlaced to fortify and keep it together.

It _hurt._ It hurt like hell—but I took the first step. Then the second. I don't know how it feels to be burned, but if I could risk a guess, my leg felt like a fucking inferno was consuming every bit of it. But I walked still, and I wouldn't stop until I and Jiji made out of this situation alive

I created a spear of Adamantine on my hand and, putting all my weight on my good leg, threw it directly at Suzie's head. The monster just swung his sword and destroyed it completely.

"Itachi!" I yelled, my voice hoarse on my sore throat. "Come at me, you fuck! Come at me!"

He didn't pay me any mind, so I picked a piece of debris out of the ground and threw his way, angry enough for it to probably miss him altogether and with my teeth gritted for the pain in my leg.

He finally turned to me. The sword on his hands dissipated and was substituted by a—could I call it a necklace? A collar made of something that resembled commas. Itachi said something I couldn't hear and threw it at me, each piece of that thing flying directly in my direction—and that shit looked sharp.

I growled to myself and bent over a knee, smashing the ground with a shout.

Adamantine erupted from my fist, traveling on the ground and raising a multitude of spikes bigger than me. He thought that something like that could take me down? I would show him.

I gritted my teeth with the first impact and channeled more and more chakra at the spikes before me, then came the second and more and more. A bead of sweat trailed down my face, but I didn't wield. I didn't wield until all the things were stopped.

Trembling, I got up and laughed in defiance, waving my hands to dissipate the Adamantine in flakes and flakes of red light. I laughed, laughed looking at Itachi, a laugh that slowly turned in a growl.

"That's all you have, you shit? Come here!" I shouted. "Or are children and pregnant women the only ones you can fight? You fucking coward! Come at me! I will rip you apart with my fucking _teeth_ if I need to!"

He stopped and slowly, very slowly, he turned completely to my direction. I couldn't see his face clearly from where I was, nor could I try to foresee his reaction, but he just went still. The construct around him didn't move a centimeter while he just stared at me.

Exactly what I needed.

I began concentrating chakra in the biggest amount I could—the energy churning and twisting around my body, waiting for me to cut loose. If Jiji died—fuck, I would exact my revenge on his killer by reducing Itachi and everything in half a mile radius to a pile of ashes and piss in the remains.

As Itachi began walking in my direction, the Hokage forgotten in one of his colossus hands, I was ready—well, as ready as I could be. I knew that I was outmatched—he was more experienced, knew my powers, and was pulling ethereal warriors out of his ass.

But fuck, I wouldn't go down without a fight.

Yet, when my attack was about to be unleashed—the air around my trembling hands distorted by the amount of power contained in them and the steel of my gloves melting and sliding between my fingers—I heard something. Something coming in my direction. I turned back, startled by the sound of footsteps smashing the ground at an unbelievable speed, and saw a green blur coming.

"Dynamic entry!" whoever he was yelled.

Wha—I knew that voice!

Gai-sensei. Gai-motherfucking-sensei!

The green-clad jounin entered the battle with the same exuberance he did everything else—unleashing an ungodly powerful dropkick right at Suzie's ribcage. His power—probably boosted with the Gates—crackled around him in a visible aura and his skin was colored a baleful red.

The kick slammed on Suzie's body like thunder hitting the earth, strong enough to blast everything around it away and create a crater with a shockwave of pure strength. The thing stumbled, not yet taken down, but with visible cracks where Gai had kicked it.

That was my chance. I dissipated the energy around my hand and threw a chain in Jiji's direction, capitalizing on the confusion to yank him off the grip of the colossus.

Then my eyes widened again when I heard the chirping of a thousand birds.

The expression in Itachi's face flashed in something I could only identify as polite exasperation. The fight was lost for him and he knew it, as he was well trained enough for that.

With Gai and Kakashi here, the Hokage freed and now without any of us holding back because of any possible survivors and ready to put his our most destructive jutsus to use, the situation was all but helpless for him.

Kakashi came running straight at Itachi, with his right hand enveloped by the deadly lightning chakra of a Raikiri—the pure energy emanating of the jutsu digging a trench by his side. He was aiming to pierce the Uchiha's heart, without giving even a single fuck to any defensive colossus in his way.

Itachi wouldn't have any of it.

With a final look at us four with an eye dripping blood, Uchiha Itachi, the greatest prodigy of his age and from now onward known as the butcher of the Uchiha Clan, dismissed Suzie and dissolved in a murder of crows.

Kakashi passed through them without hitting anything and, just like that, the fight was finally over. Over, and we were all alive—except Fugaku. Shit. Yet, I was relieved and limped next to them, then I let myself finally fall over my back and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Hokage-sama! I was running around Konoha on my nightly jog when my eternal rival came asking for my aid in this dire situation!" said Gai-sensei in his own boisterous tone. His aura faltered and disappeared as he closed his Chakra Gates. "And that's the youthful Naruto-kun here?!"

I waved a hand to Gai as an answer. God bless his soul.

"You two probably saved our lives, Gai-san and Kakashi-san. For that, I thank you," Jiji answered, willing his staff to disappear in another cloud of smoke and coming in my direction.

The damage in the old man's body was clear to us now, his right arm pelted with wounds to the elbow and he had some cuts on his face and torso. Fortunately, they were shallow and would be easily healed by a good medic-nin.

All in all, he was good enough after a fight like that.

"Naruto-kun, I can't say how much of a help you have been," the Hokage said, raising an eyebrow. "But you have… well, something there. In your stomach."

I raised my head from the ground just enough to look down and saw a jagged piece of metal embedded deeply inside my abdomen—just below my ribs. I sighed and grasped the exposed part of it, pulling the offending object out of me with a spurt of blood.

"Just a flesh wound," I said, carelessly throwing the thing to the side. The wound steamed a bit and, in some seconds, there wasn't anything left of it besides my blood. Remembering about my leg, I waved my hand and dissipated the Adamantine around it as I felt the skin growing back.

The Hokage coughed and everyone averted their eyes.

We heard something falling and our mind finally registered the level of destruction around us. Absolutely nothing stood unscathed in the compound, even the ground was now riddled with craters and trenches born from our own attacks and there was a raging inferno smoking to the sky. The few buildings still standing were already crashing down, and Fugaku's body had been obliterated by the explosion.

There were some bits and pieces of people scattered around too, the thing with variation being the spice of life and all.

Jiji spoke with a firm voice, "Now, let's adjourn from this… carnage, to my office—we need to talk and go in the deep about what happened here. Kakashi-san, I want a report from the ANBU on what happened in the village. Gai-san, please go and alert the clans that we are safe again. Naruto-kun, deal with the fire and will come with me."

I nodded and, almost lazily, extinguished the fire in the wasteland around us with a snap of my finger. I was simply too tired to answer with words.

Kakashi closed his left eye and caressed the scar, probably remembering something or someone, while Gai was looking at the scene and scowling – scowling! I bit my lower lip, looking at the scenery around me.

The price of that night was clear to us. The Uchiha Clan was no more.

Fucking night. Fucking Itachi. Fucking Suzie.

I knew I should have stayed on the mindscape today.

* * *

I plopped exhausted in a chair at Jiji's office and looked at the window with a closed fist supporting my chin. The man himself was sitting behind his desk and rubbing his eyes, exhausted.

After receiving the news from Kakashi that—other than everyone on the Police Headquarters—there were no victims of the explosions, Jiji ordered the ANBU to keep the guard until tomorrow, then told me to follow him and came here.

"That was some night, Hokage-Jiji," I said.

"Yes—I did see worse back in the day, but not by much. This fight was inside our own home, inside our own walls," Jiji said, his face finally showing his sadness. "Seeing, again, the ground littered with corpses of people I once knew was a sobering sight to behold."

For once, he didn't even look to the paperwork.

Drumming with my fingers on the chair's arm, I looked at him. "Still, I don't even imagine what the fu-"

He raised a hand to interrupt me. "Language, Naruto-kun."

I raised an eyebrow. "Sorry. I can't imagine _what in the world_ made Itachi do something like that. Killing his own people—his family. That was monstrous, Jiji."

He didn't answer, but Natsumi did. **"Monstrous? No, no. This is humanity for you."**

I couldn't really argue against that.

Jiji gave me a sad smile. "Uchiha Itachi was a troubled young man, Naruto-kun. He was raised as a prodigy of the likes which seldom appear in our lands since his childhood," he began putting tobacco in his pipe and sighed. "He grew fast in the ranks—being an ANBU captain at an age when other children just began to be introduced at the shinobi way. The cost for him, in mind and spirit, was steep."

I knew that, and thinking about it, our life histories had parallels enough to make me uncomfortable. Could I have been like that if I hadn't Natsumi with me? Could I have snapped and descended enough into madness to kill my own clan?

 **"Of course not,"** Natsumi said.

'Seriously?' I blinked at the sheer vehemence of her tone. 'Why?'

 **"Because, Naruto, every person of your clan is already dead,"** she said.

I coughed to suppress a laugh and jabbed a finger in my stomach. 'Too soon Nat, too soon.'

The Hokage gave me a questioning look, but I just rolled my eyes and made rabbit ears with my fingers. He opened his mouth to ask, but instead just shook his head and changed the subject.

"Well, Naruto-kun. After the hardship of this night, I can only say that you have made me proud," he said, smiling to me. "Your actions tonight saved the main line of the Uchiha clan of extinction altogether—and, probably, even myself. In the name of our village, I thank you." He finished, bowing his head slightly to me.

I fought a slightly blush back and waved my hands against the praise, "Forget it Jiji, Sasuke is a child and that woman was a damsel in distress," I said, and then remembered something. "Did you know this Uchiha Mikoto is pregnant? And she seemed to know me."

"What?!" Jiji looked at me with wide eyes. "Are you certain of that?"

"I heard two heartbeats coming from her body," I answered. "There's no other explanation."

He waited in silence for some seconds, taking a long drag of his pipe.

"That changes the plan," he said more to himself than out loud, but I still heard it clearly.

The plan? I didn't know what the fuck was he talking about. I stared at him with my head tilted to the side, waiting for an explanation or whatever.

He just gave me a sorrowful look and stood up. Then slowly walked around his desk, pausing to put a hand on my shoulder, before he opened a cabinet and extracted a bottle of sake and two cups from there.

The Hokage put the cups on in his desk and poured the drinks. Then he offered one to me.

"Eh—Jiji, you do know I am fourteen, right?" I said with a mischievous smile spreading in my face.

He gave me a look of disbelief. "Old enough to kill, old enough to drink. You walked in a battleground with a Kage and saved lives here, Naruto-kun, I think you are more than apt to drink to your heart's content now. Don't think I don't know about you, Mitarashi Anko and Shiranui Genma on the Crooked Kunai."

I looked away and whistled a bit. _That_ wasn't something I would talk about with my grandfather figure, thank you very much.

Jiji then laughed, trying to give me a stern look—but still smiling warmly. "Moreover, it's your Hokage who is ordering you, kind of genin Uzumaki Naruto. Now, drink."

I snickered and drank a mouthful of the sake. It was some good shit.

He sat again in his chair with a distant look in his eyes, taking a sip from his own drink. "After I first stood with my sensei in battle, he did it for me too—gave me a drink and just sat there, without saying a word," even I could see that this memory was precious to him. "Tobirama-sensei was a hard man coming from an even harder time, but he knew that the horrors of the war shouldn't be taken lightly. And don't doubt it, Naruto-kun, today was a war."

The sake burned my throat and set a fire alight inside my belly, a sensation that was... kind of nice. After some time. With another sip, I rested the cup and asked Jiji something that was bugging me.

"What was that talk about a plan, Jiji?"

The Hokage just looked to the window, waiting some time until he answered—apparently trying to find a way to put it in words. I waited patiently until he finally turned back to me with a look I never saw before in his eyes.

"It's about Uchiha Mikoto. But first, I need to explain something to you," he said, then took a deep breath. "Today, Naruto-kun, I saw your real character—you even saved my life, and for that, I will tell you the last secrets I know about you. The first is, of course, about your father."

My head snapped almost painfully in his direction. He had told me much about my mother, but the subject of my father was never even touched in our conversations. I thought that he wasn't someone of note, so I banished all the thoughts about him from my head and just proceeded with my life.

Apparently, I was wrong.

He poured another two cups for us and drank his one slowly, probably considering the best way of laying the bare bones of the history before me. Apparently, he decided to go for brutal honesty.

"If you had any knowledge of the background of the other jinchūriki around the Elemental Nations, it would give you clues about the identity of your father," he paused, waving his hand at me. "Of course it isn't common knowledge, but generally, to instill loyalty to the village, the jinchūrikis are related to the Kage's family."

Wait, what? Was Jiji saying—he was my father? Oh god. God. God! Fuck me!

Looking at the dumbfounded look I had in my face, Jiji must have divined—by means unknown—what conclusion I derived from his words. He began laughing almost hysterically, barely avoiding to knock his cup off the desk and guffawing until he began to wheeze for breath.

I could only look at him in absolute shock. Gods, no.

"No, Naruto-kun, I am not related to you by blood, even if I care about you like a grandfather would. The one that you would be calling father if the circumstances of your birth, were different— this one would be my successor."

He couldn't be talking about—

The Hokage voice was dead serious now. "Your father was called, by his foes and friends alike, Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō, The Yellow Flash who, alone, decimated Iwagakure's army. The one that sealed the Kyuubi and saved the village at the cost of his own life. He was the husband of Uzumaki Kushina, and his name was Namikaze Minato—but you might have heard of him, as he is more known as the Yondaime Hokage."

Silence. Uncomfortable, shocked silence.

I couldn't wrap my mind around this. Yondaime, the man who made me a jinchūriki, was my father? The fuck? Was the man barking mad—maybe immersed in a deep psychosis caused by an overdose of distilled bishounen drugs to do something like that?

Then a voice, a thoroughly amused voice at that, began laughing inside my mind.

I sighed—here she comes.

 **"Oh. My. Dear. Your father was the yellow flashlight! I am kind of dating the bonafide prince of Konohagakure, Namikaze Naruto!"** she said between her giggles. **"Bow to me, you mortals! Bow to the God-Empress Natsumi no Kitsune!"**

'Ha ha ha, funny thing you. The man who gave the proverbial go ahead to tear my childhood apart was my father. It's like my life is some bad shounen or a thing like that. If he didn't have done—"

Now wait a fucking minute right here.

Remembering the teachings the ANBU people painstakingly instilled in my mind, I stopped just reacting to the news and began dissecting the consequences of that knowledge. Nothing changed. The man was dead. My mother was dead. My two clans were dead.

I couldn't change shit about that and if I began reacting to it like a brat, yelling and smashing everything around, Jiji would just be disappointed with me.

Hell, if the Yondaime hadn't done that sealing mumbo-jumbo, I wouldn't know Natsumi. She wouldn't be here with me, she wouldn't tell me her stories and live by my side. My life would sure be easier, but…

It would be dull. Boring, even.

I wasn't a child anymore and I had no need for parents. For all it was worth, I already had a family—Jiji, Kakashi, Ayame, Teuchi, Hinata-chan, Natsumi... even that crazy bastard Dragon was a somewhat of a deranged and psychopathic uncle.

They were my people. There's absolutely nothing I would change about it.

Without the Yondaime bright idea, yeah, my life would be completely different. But would it be better? I fucking doubt it, especially without my special companion here in my head. I probably would end being an obnoxious little brat.

I composed myself again and schooled my expression—accepting the news and rolling with the punches like a good ANBU should do.

'You know Nat, I think that if I saw him now, I wouldn't punch that girly mug of his—instead, I would give him a big thank you,' seriously, the man looked way too delicate for a Kage in these pictures. 'After all, without him meddling around with gods of death and shit, I wouldn't have you.'

Natsumi stopped laughing and didn't say anything for a time, the pause extending for a few seconds until she finally spoke, with a soft and warm tone of voice that she reserved only for our better moments.

 **"In times like that, Naruto, you make me remember why in the bloody hell I choose you among all humans I've ever encountered before to call a partner."**

Then, of course, I had to put my metaphorical feet in my mouth with the expertise of a professional in the art.

'And stopping to think about it, you've already met your father and mother-in-law,' I said, a smirk tugging my lips. 'Now we just need to dig the Rikudō Sennin out of wherever his corpse is so I can meet him and complete the set.'

The silence, this time, was more unnerving—and without any softness. Any. Not even a hint.

 **"And in times like that, I really, really think that I was fucking disturbed when I made that decision."**

Cutting the connection with a barely stifled laugh, I looked back to Jiji—who was studying my face in quiet contemplation for my reaction, for the second time that night. Must be weird, to just stand here while seeing my face changing expressions without any word.

I coughed a bit. "Well, Jiji, I can only say that we are a bunch of retards."

I sent a chain of chakra to pick the man's picture off the wall and held it side by side with my face, rolling the eyes and then trying to mimic the expression.

"Just—just look. Blonde, blue eyes—well not blue anymore. Forget it, just look. The only others like this here are the Yamanaka and I don't think that I have any affinity to barging in the mind of people—or Kyuubi would have some midnight snacks." I said, putting the picture back in the place with the chain. "Good to know about him, anyway. And what's about Mikoto?"

He just puffed his pipe again, "I would say something about his casual relationship with the Tailed Beast inside you, but I am just too tired for that." Oh, if only he knew. Man, he would be in for a long, long ride inside the rabbit hole. "About Mikoto Uchiha—it's a delicate matter. First, you need to know she was in a genin cell with your father and mother."

"What?!" I almost jumped out of my chair. "She knows—"

"Yes," Jiji answered. "But she couldn't meet you—and that was because I prohibited her to."

He did—I gave Jiji a hurt look. He didn't let her, someone who knew my mom, meet me? Why? Why would he do that? Jiji raised his hands and was fast to explain when he saw the disbelief in my eyes.

"What you need to know is that after the Kyuubi attack, the things with the Uchiha clan were treading a fine line," he said. "The people in the village thought they were behind the attack, and there were you. I will not mince words here Naruto-kun, other than your friends on the shinobi ranks, people don't like you."

At least there was nothing new here.

Jiji then entwined his fingers under his chin. "Now, think— what would happen if I did let Uchiha Mikoto, the wife of the Uchiha Clan Head, met you and take care of you? Of the jinchūriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. I would have a civil war on my hands—and my first responsibility is to maintain the peace of the village. That's why I took that decision."

I took a long breath to control my own emotions. Jiji was right—of course, he was. But it still hurt a bit. to have someone who knew my mother and father like that being taken away from me just because of politics.

I could only ask him.

"Can I met her?" I asked.

The Hokage smile was sprinkled with relief and some disbelief at my tone—he probably thought I would go full angsty at him. Well, I did not—because although he held that little secret, he cared for me and gave me a good future in the best way he knew. He was a good man doing what he thought was right, and I hardly could fault him for it.

"We will go to the hospital now," he said, nodding in my direction. "I certainly need to break the sad news to her about her husband—and introducing you will at least give her a reason to be a little bit happier."

I got up from the chair, anxious to go, but Jiji held a hand up, halting my progress.

"Don't be naive, I am trusting you here, Naruto-kun," his expression was deadly serious. "You can tell about yourself to her and we will decide afterward what to tell young Sasuke, but Mikoto is a pregnant woman who lost her whole clan tonight—and remember, the fault of her not talking to you before is all mine. Be honest with me, If you can't be mature enough to control your temper with her, tell me now and I will go alone."

I straightened my posture and looked right at Jiji eyes, my face serious.

"I am not angry with her, Hokage-sama. Hell, I am not even angry with you," I said, my jaw clenched with determination. "I—I just want to meet her. Maybe try to talk with her and get to know a bit more about someone who was my parents' friend. Can you please let me, sir? Please, I—"

The Hokage interrupted me with a gesture and a proud smile.

"Come with me then, Uzumaki Naruto," he said, motioning me to follow him.

* * *

I was tapping my foot nervously while I waited for Jiji to call me to their room. The waiting room of the hospital was empty at that late hour and I only was permitted to enter because the Hokage was with me. He said for me to wait until he gave Mikoto the news and signal me to enter, and that had been thirty or so minutes ago.

'Hay Nat,' I said. 'What do you think about her?'

 **"I am impressed,"** Natsumi said. **"Don't misunderstand me, I hate the Uchiha Clan, but that woman and her husband… did you see her shoving the doctor aside for him to take care of Sasuke? She has guts. I like that."**

I smiled and was going to answer before I heard Jiji calling me.

Taking a deep breath, I got up and straightened my clothes—my ripped, bloodied and almost completely fucked up clothes. I walked to the door and opened it slowly, pausing to take a good look at the room.

Sasuke was sleeping with a bandage around his head but was otherwise unharmed. Mikoto, though, had a bruise on her face and was being hydrated with an IV, but the worse thing about her was the look she had—tears running down her cheeks and a trembling lip as she cried. Jiji, with her face shadowed by his hat, held her hand to give her some comfort, but it was clear that he wasn't succeeding much.

"Now, Mikoto-san, I want to officially introduce you to this young man here," he said, his tone warm. Mikoto choked a sob and turned at me—then her eyes widened and she looked back to the Hokage in disbelief. He nodded, answering the unasked question, and made a gesture in my direction.

Nice job putting me in the spotlight, Hokage-Jiji.

"Huh—hello there, it's nice to meet you," I said in a somewhat shy voice and took off my mask, giving the distraught woman an uneasy smile. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I am the son of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato."

She just gave me a disbelieving stare, her eyes impossibly wide, and her fingers around Jiji's hand were white from the strength of her grip. The Hokage motioned with his head for me to continue, a wince of pain tugging his lips.

I shuffled my feet, a bit shy under her scrutiny, and scratched the back of my head.

"I—I think you know a thing or two about my parents?"

* * *

 **Uzumaki Naruto — Physical Evaluation  
** _Written by Dr. Ochi, ANBU Veteran — Unit 30, GSWII._

 _Summary_

One day after the Uchiha Massacre, Uzumaki Naruto (male, fourteen years old, blond hair and red eyes) presented himself for a physical evaluation. I, Gureigori Ochi (GSWII-U30), am the medic-nin of choice to perform the tests, as I am the only physician familiar with the unique differences of his body composition to the norm since his first evaluation as an ANBU trainee.

 _Examination Overview_

The body of the subject is truly something that I, even with all my years of experience, never witnessed before. For starters, he is taller than his age would suggest, with low body fat and more muscular than most ninjas—I theorize it as a side effect of his healing factor and his Uzumaki heritage. A normal ninja will have a circulatory chakra system with 361 tenketsu points, yet, the subject has none. I asked him about that and, hearing his explanations and comparing with my own examinations, I discovered that his body now has chakra freely flowing around and _inside_ his cells—even energizing their capabilities. He doesn't need a chakra circulatory system anymore, as his body is already adapted for that.

His bones are extremely dense and his muscles display a tensile strength many times above an ordinary person, gifting him an enormous strength against concussive damage and a strength vastly superior to a normal human **(refer to the tests performed on him, pages 14 and 15)** even without enhancing himself with chakra. His nervous system is, too, enhanced, his reaction times being almost instantly at perceived stimuli. By means unknown, he displays a connection with heat and fire, being impervious to damage done by them and having a body temperature higher than the norm.

The biggest surprise, though, was that aforementioned healing factor.

The subject, basically, can't be sick—as his own chakra burn foreign energies and his immune system destroy any foreign body. He, too, boasts the capability of regenerating a finger in only a minute and can stay on his feet even with his own heart pierced through. After he is wounded, the wound apparently steams from the inside, closing together faster than anyone I saw before. The blood or flesh cut off him burns itself to nothing out of his body, which made impossible for me to do a blood test.

His senses, too, are far above the norm—probably done by his unique condition. His slitted red eyes are sharper, his hearing and nose are comparable to the Inuzuka Hounds and he can perceive even variations of air pressure with his skin. It's still indefinite if the subject feels more pain than a normal person, but he doesn't show discomfort at being hurt.

Lastly, he explained his chakra natures to me. Seeing a man that young separating his chakra in yin and yang subconsciously was something that shocked me—no more, though, than what he said. He is immune to genjutsu, as his chakra burn anything foreign in his body, and can't do medical jutsu or genjutsu himself. He explained to me the best he could what he could do, and it was amazing.

He can create matter from this chakra—forming a material he called Adamantine, in any shape he wants. He has a connection to the concept of fire itself and everything that comes with it—heat, oxidation, you name it—which I truly can't understand. What an experienced user of Katon need hand signs to even try to emulate, he can do with a snap of his fingers and much, much more.

We then proceeded to test his physical levels, **refer to pages 13 and 14 of this document.  
** For more information about his chakra, **refer to pages 20 to 25.  
** For my final notes and theory about his abilities and physical prowess, **refer to page 30.**

* * *

If you like the story or want to comment anything, **please review!** Thank you, lads.


	4. Chapter 4 — The Truth Shall Set You Free

**Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue; I do not own, so please don't sue.**

* * *

 **Chapter Four  
The Truth Shall Set You Free**

"The story ends, Tomoe-chan, just as Icarus flew too close to the sun and the wax holding his wings together melted," I said, gently rocking back and forth the little baby girl I was holding on my arms. I was sitting cross-legged on the rooftop of the new house of the Uchiha Clan, just relaxing and watching the sunrise.

I looked back to her. "We can learn from this story. Learn that, because Icarus was too greedy and tried to reach for the sky, he just fell and found his own end instead. The dangers of greed and all."

Uchiha Tomoe was just under a full one year of age by then, the first daughter of Mikoto and Fugaku. The only member of the Uchiha clan born after the Massacre and, more than that, one of the reasons for Mikoto to not let herself fall into a depression after that night.

So, how Tomoe's existence affected me?

Well. Mikoto, clearly possessed by something truly unholy or just being completely mad after giving Tomoe's birth—I couldn't discard any of these possibilities, really—saw fit to make her my goddaughter.

Yes. I, Uzumaki Naruto, became a godfather.

Crazy thing that.

I tried to change Mikoto's mind. I argued and pleaded, but she was adamant about giving me that honor. Said something about trying to make up for all these years she ignored me—obviously not caring about the fact I didn't blame her in the slightest—and then said she wanted to give me a true family.

I wasn't too optimistic about that, to be honest—that feeling lasted until I saw Tomoe for the first time.

Looking again at that little girl, that beautiful baby with black eyes and pale skin who was giggling as I bounced her around… I just wanted to thank Mikoto for doing that. Tomoe was so small, so frail—so goddamn precious.

"But you, little Tomoe, you are different," I said, raising a hand and creating a little ball of sunshine above my palm. She tried to reach for it with her small arms and made a gurgle of excitement. "You can try and reach for the sun all you want—because the sun is mine, and it will be my gift to you. It will never hurt you—nobody will."

I made the fire spiral to the sky and disappear. Tomoe made a perfect circle with her mouth, her eyes wide while she looked at the little show. I couldn't help myself and laughed, pushing her closer to me and rubbing my cheek with hers.

"I am glad to know you, little sister," my smile widened, "I am glad."

The moment was broken by a shout.

"Naruto-kun!" I heard Mikoto calling from inside the house. "Kakashi is here for you! Get down!"

I looked back to Tomoe and sighed—still smiling though—then held her close to me and jumped down the rooftop to the ground, which earned another little sound of joy from her. Already a little daredevil, that one was.

 **"** _ **The sun is mine?**_ **"** Natsumi repeated my earlier words and laughed. **"You spoil her something awful, you know? And so you know, your hubris is showing. Right here.**

'Tomoe-chan deserves it," I shrugged at the accusation and felt my cheeks flush a little. "These days, I—shit, Nat, I really don't know, but... I think I am changing. I am _feeling_ more, ya know? I can feel the sunrise, even the stars at night, that and much, _much_ more."

I raised a hand to the sky, looking at the sun between my extended fingers before I closed my hand into a fist. "Do you know why?"

 **"You are becoming more attuned to the concept of fire,"** she answered. **"More like me, if you want to think like that. Everything you are beginning to feel? That... Naruto, that is something I dearly miss. Not only seeing, but _feeling_ the sun being born, day after day. That much energy connected to me—now **_**us**_ — **and** **everywhere at the same time..."**

She let her statement open and fell into a silence. I knew her enough to pick up the sadness and longing in her voice, even if she tried to hide it from me. I scowled—that wasn't right.

Nat should be out and about here in the real world, free of her shackles to do as she wished. Not confined by a seal and imprisoned inside me.

That familiar guilt welled inside me again. That was just _wrong._

'Nat, someday I swear I will—'

" **I know, Naruto. I know,"** she interrupted me with a tired sigh, trying to sound nonchalantly about that. **"But not before we kill the one with the power to control me. Now go and talk to Mikoto, I need to think for a bit. Alone,"** Natsumi finished, cutting the mental link between us with an audible snap.

I closed my eyes for a second, then schooled my expression so Tomoe-chan couldn't see me sad and flicked her nose. After pausing on my way to take a deep breath, I put a smile on my face and entered the house without much hurry—going directly to the kitchen.

"I swear you are a bad influence," Uchiha Mikoto turned to look at me, drying her hands in her apron before she picked Tomoe from my arms. "Tomoe-chan always wake up at the sunrise now, waiting to see it with you—just so she can immediately fall asleep after you go away."

I scratched the back of my neck. "Sorry. Kind of happened by accident the first time, and I think she likes it."

"I am joking, Naruto-kun," she shook her head and smiled. "That habit gives me time to make breakfast for Sasuke-kun and Tomoe-chan—and Kami knows that boy needs to eat more."

"Where's his scrawny ass, anyway?"

"Language," Mikoto gave me a stern look, "and Sasuke-kun is still sleeping. These sparring sessions of you two are very demanding to him—not everyone has your Uzumaki stamina," she sighed with a faraway look in her face. "Your mother was the same—always running around, shouting just everything she said and dragging us to _adventures_ with her."

I found myself fighting a grin that threatened to split my face in two.

"So, Kakashi is waiting for you in the backyard," Mikoto said and gave me a mock scowl. "Go away from my house now, you freeloader. Chop-chop."

I gave Tomoe a kiss on the cheek and turned to Mikoto with a mischievous smile. "You didn't complain after my cooking tips. That meat was _gray,_ Mikoto-chan, meat shouldn't be-"

I ducked under the swat she sent in my direction and ran away, laughing. Who would imagine that the Uchiha matriarch prodigious skills in housekeeping didn't extend to cooking?

Mikoto cooking before I took the matter in my hands was the closest thing to chemical warfare I had ever seen. Seriously. I even had to drag Ayame here to try and help me to make sure that she wouldn't make some plague in her kitchen by accident.

My friendship with Mikoto was a welcome addition to my life. As we didn't need to be apart now that the Uchiha Clan was almost extinct, I found myself more in her house than living in my our apartment—even more after Tomoe was born.

I even managed, miraculously, to struck something resembling a friendship with Sasuke. Or the closest thing possible of it that anyone could have with a Uchiha.

Meh, whatever.

I and Sasuke sparred together sometimes, too. Not that I ever went full-on against him—that bastard was a piece of work, but for my utter disgust and horror, I found that I kind of liked him and didn't want to kill the guy. So, I used my understanding of his fighting style to win by technique instead of strength.

Kakashi's lazy drawl cut me from my thoughts. "Yo. If this isn't the new big brother on the block finally coming to see little old me."

"Don't even joke, I am too fucking young and clanless for that," I shook my head and looked back to the house. "Still, thinking about it, I don't know why Mikoto-chan trusted me enough to make me Tomoe-chan's godfather. Childbirth drugs, maybe?"

We were in the backyard—also being the training area—of the house. It was a simple two-story home, spacious, yes, but not nearly opulent and big as their old house in the clan compound was.

But it was a home, and Mikoto seemed to be happy with it.

Even happier after I went nuts and protected it with every seal I knew after working for two days straight. Now, a Boss Summon falling from the sky wouldn't even risk the painting.

Kakashi put a hand on my shoulder and gave an eye-smile. "Maa, chill down, I think it's cute. Matter of factly, I didn't want to interrupt your fun, but Hokage-sama told me to pick you up urgently," he shivered. "Even threatened to throw us in a week of D-ranks if I didn't, so..."

D-class missions meant _catching Tora._

"Holy shit. let's run before we piss him off then" I said, ready to go before I remembered something. "Oh, don't you want to go inside and see Tomoe before we go?"

"Sadly, I can't," Kakashi waved his hand in dismissal. "The poor girl is probably already sleeping, now that you're not bugging her with your new sun-loving hippie bullshit anymore—and do you _want_ to risk seeing if Hokage-sama is serious about the D-rank duty?"

Oh, call me a hippie, will he? I would be tempted to put Kakashi on my shit list, but he was already in it—and he had been there for so long that he probably had obligatory housing welfare and all.

I gave him a dirty look. "Let's see Jiji, then."

* * *

Comfortably seated on a couch at the Hokage's office, I and Kakashi waited for Jiji to finish his apparently infinite amount of paperwork. Only after what appeared to be an eternity and a half, the man signed the last document and took a drag from his pipe, finally looking at us.

Maybe stealing this pipe would be a fitting vengeance for calling me this much early? No, probably not—I wasn't too keen about him going full The Professor on my ass in the training grounds for that.

"Good morning Naruto-kun, Kakashi-san," he said with a chipper tone that no one had any business in having this earlier in the morning. "I called you two here to give your new assignments for the next years, so pay attention—I will not repeat myself."

He looked at us, seriously, then dropped the proverbial bomb. "Naruto-kun, you will become a genin on our official ranks. It means that you're out of the ANBU from now onwards."

"What?!" I jumped to my feet with my eyes wide. I wanted to shout and protest, but I knew that face. He wouldn't be moved out of this decision—he was simply giving me the news, not asking my opinion about them _._

ANBU work couldn't be called easy, of course, but I liked it that way—much less bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo and all. Shit, I wasn't even sure that I could be a normal ninja anymore.

Jiji wanted to put me in a team with children now! Untrained children while we're at it, plus a random jounin looking over my shoulder and ordering me around. That was a recipe for certain disaster.

"But Jiji—" I began my protest anyway and he cut me with a glare.

"But nothing, Naruto-kun. It's an order and that's final. You know the ninjas drafted into ANBU generally have a stay of just three years before they are dismissed back to the normal ranks—yet, you're still in the corps for your fifth year and counting."

I couldn't argue against that, but fuck me if I didn't want to. I already had seen a number of good men, good ninjas, who were changed into husks of their past selves because their time doing dirty work.

Shuffling my feet and looking down, I could only accept my orders and try and find anything good about it. Roll with the punches, learn, adapt and overcome.

"That's final, Hokage-sama?" I asked and he answered me with a nod. I bowed my head in his direction, my tone of voice controlled and low. "Sorry for my outburst then."

The Hokage gave me a comforting smile. "I already have a team in mind for you, you know, but put a smile on your face before I tell you about them, as you are not alone in this endeavor." Jiji then turned to my sensei with a raised eyebrow. "Kakashi-san will be returning to the normal ranks as a jounin sensei too, seeing how his time serving in the ANBU was even longer than yours."

Kakashi didn't even have the decency of looking ashamed about that breaking of protocol, just shrugged and inclined his head to the Hokage's direction, accepting his fate.

Suddenly realization came to me—that was a setup, wasn't it? Kakashi wasn't surprised. Oh, I needed to make this bastard suffer for doing that to his only apprentice alright.

"He will be your jounin sensei—if you graduate, of course," I couldn't help it and grinned. "For your teammates, the first is one Uchiha Sasuke. I trust you agree with my choice, Kakashi-san?"

He gave Jiji a nod. I approved the choice, too, even if no one did ask for my opinion—Sasuke was skilled and had a lot of potential as a shinobi. More than that, he was one of the two people I counted as close friends in the Academy, along with a certain Hyuuga.

Jiji then picked some papers from his desk's drawer, "About the third member of the team, I examined the scores of the graduating class and found someone that can fit right there. That young woman coming from a civilian family, Haruno Sakura."

"What?!" I couldn't manage to hold my outburst. "Sakura?!"

I then twisted my hands in my back and looked down, not wanting to go against Jiji's choice—until he made a gesture for me to begin talking.

I bowed my head again and managed to control the displeasure in my voice with some effort. "Hokage-sama, she is just book smarts all over the place. She is arrogant and has the physical capacity of a garden cricket, I—Jiji, please reconsider your choice. Please."

Jiji paid attention to my reasoning and didn't answer my plea with words. Instead, he handed me the papers he was holding—a signal of respect, showing he wouldn't just steamroll my opinion like he could do if he wanted.

I found that the documents had the names of all my classmates, the probability of approval, and a little overview of their capacities. Basic stuff and all.

It had the grades too, but fuck them—the enemy never asks if you know the favorite fruit of the Nidaime Hokage before killing you. I fought a smile down when I saw my name and a miserable five percent chance of graduating. _That_ would surely rock the boat.

Kakashi, too, peered at it under my shoulders. We shared a look and he gave me a discrete wink, before inclining his head in Jiji's direction.

The message was clear—that was my show now.

Jiji interlaced his fingers under his chin. "Alright, I will hear your reasoning—even if I don't agree with your assessment of Sakura-san, as I suspect you're judging her capabilities too harshly and too soon," he gave me a stern look. "Other than that, who do you think that is the best choice for the Team Seven if Sakura is out of the picture?"

I didn't even need to read the files to make my decision.

"I want Hyuuga Hinata."

If my choice surprised Jiji, he didn't show any hint about it in his expression. He was silent for a few seconds and I could almost see the gears spinning in his brain while he weighed the pros and cons of accepting my choice. Kakashi put a hand on my shoulder—maybe to show he was with me here, through and through.

"She would be a good choice, indeed," the Hokage finally said. "Unfortunately, Yuuhi Kurenai has already laid a claim in her for the Team Eight. Kurenai has already been her mentor of sorts for a long, long time, after all."

I bit my lip to muffle what I _really_ wanted to say before Jiji gave me a bemused look.

"You know you can talk freely with me, Naruto-kun."

"Hinata-chan, she… she needs someone who can give her motivation to be the best kunoichi in this village, and I _know_ he can. I am her oldest friend, and ever since I first met her, I did my damned best to give her confidence," I said, trying to maintain my voice low. "Kurenai is good, but she can't _understand_ Hinata like me. Not her strength, not the power of her will. I—we. We need Hinata here."

I took a deep breath and bowed my head to the Hokage for the third time. "Please, trust me about this."

"I, too, would prefer Hinata," Kakashi suddenly gave his two cents in the conversation. "I already know the girl just for being around Naruto and she shows great promise as a kunoichi. Better yet, the teamwork between these three could very well be the stuff of legends, and I agree with his reasoning."

I looked to Kakashi and gave him a silent _thank you_ before I turned back to Jiji with a smile. "Yeah, and if Sasuke can deal with any female around him without having a panic attack and thinking of fangirls, it's her."

The Hokage didn't laugh at my joke. Instead, he silently thought about the decision for almost a minute, which made me increasingly nervous in the process—until, finally, he picked the sheet from my hands and sighed in exasperation. Probably thinking about the talk he would have with Yuuhi Kurenai if he agreed with me.

I couldn't blame him. Kurenai's temper was already pretty famous around the village.

"I will sanction it, then," he acquiesced and fixed me with a serious stare. "I will do it because you told me the truth and did it with honesty. I am glad to see you don't think me as a fool who can be deceived, as many do."

I scoffed at the thought. "If anyone is fool enough to think that, they deserve whatever is coming to them. But really, thank you, Jiji."

The Hokage put the documents back in the drawer, "Returning to the matters of your new duty, Naruto-kun, today you will go to the Academy and take the graduation tests with your peers. This time, however, you have my order to pass."

"Yes, yes, I will. Now, if I can go—"

Jiji shook his head. I wasn't off the hook yet.

I felt a chill down my spine because of that gaze and, trying to ignore the feeling of dread welling in my belly, I stood still and waited for whatever more he would ask after all that.

"I will have your mask back before you are dismissed, Kitsune."

Oh. _That._

I winced when I heard my codename again—probably for the last time too. Passing a finger in the seal in the underside of my wrist, I made the fox mask appear in a puff of smoke and, with some hesitation, put it on his desk.

There it was, more than five years of my life, arguably the best five I even had, ending with this mask. I fell to one knee, head bowed in his direction and my right arm over my chest.

Jiji picked the mask and began the ceremony. " _Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai_ operative Kitsune, you served your village in the shadows and brought peace with the blood of our enemies. The glory of your missions wasn't recognized out of the corporation, your deeds weren't heard in the streets and the deaths made by your hands will remain forever unnamed."

I heard the cracks appearing in the mask. My beautiful, familiar and glorious mask. It made me wince, almost if each one was a punch in my gut. Kakashi, again, put a hand on my shoulder.

Each word Jiji said had the finality of a gravestone. "Your Will of Fire will now shine brightly among the leaves of the Great Tree again, for your work under the shadows has ended. Kitsune is dead," he finally crushed the mask between his calloused hands. "From his ashes, rise again, Uzumaki Naruto."

The first thing I saw when I stood up again was the shattered remains of my mask on the desk. It had ended. I wasn't an ANBU anymore— I was back to being just Naruto.

 **"It's a shame. That mask was a turn on,"** Natsumi whispered.

I didn't smile at her joke. 'You still can have me, anyway.'

 **"Will do. Also, you will stop brooding now—it's undignified."**

Accepting her advice, I picked a small shattered remain of the mask off the ground and looked at it. Dragon always said that a Black Ops operative couldn't complain about the unexpected, instead, he adapted to it and made the situation his own.

I bowed in Jiji's direction a final time and bumped my fist with Kakashi.

"Want me to be here for your ceremony, Inu-sensei?"

"I do not," he said, dismissing me with a gesture to the window. "I need to talk privately with the Hokage after that. Just buy a bowl of ramen for me—god knows that I need one now that you will be my official student."

I smiled humorlessly, giving him a punch in the shoulder before I walked away and put a foot on the windowsill, pausing to take a deep breath. Funny, most of the people would call me free now—even if I didn't ask for it.

I put the piece of my mask in my pocket with a last look.

The village of Konohagakure no Sato was here, spreading under me. Almost like it was defying me to go and made myself known to them. Like a predator waiting to tear me to shreds.

Accepting the challenge, I bared my teeth and opened my arms, then I jumped out the window, feeling the cold wind passing by my face while I fell from the Hokage Tower.

Poor fools wouldn't even know what hit them.

* * *

"Well, it seems like miracles can occur. Uzumaki Naruto, being silent? Now there's a thing I never saw before."

I glared at Sasuke. I found him on the way to the Academy and I wasn't feeling very talkative after what happened in Jiji's office, so I just walked with him in silence. He was giving me a smirk, his delicate—yeah, delicate, like a girly porcelain doll—features, mocking me without him needing to even say a word.

"Liked you more when you just went around grunting," I mumbled.

"Do you now? Consider it payback. You were always talking how _Sasuke is so bitchy and silent,_ so _brooding_ , and look, your motormouth is now apparently broken. Funny."

 **"He kind of has a point,"** Natsumi said.

"Oh, fuck you Sasuke," I said, giving him my middle finger. "You want to hear my voice, I will record a tape for you to hear in your alone time. Just give me the word and it's done."

Seeing his disgusted expression was exactly what I needed to laugh.

"You're disgusting," he wrinkled his nose and gestured in the direction of the Academy building—acting like I hadn't seen it a million of times before that day. "So, we are finally here."

"No shit," I said. Then I shook my head and turned to enter the building—at least until I felt him grabbing my arm before I could go.

"Naruto," I turned back to him. He was looking at me with narrowed eyes—the smirk out of his face and not even a slightly joking tone in his voice. "What happened to you today?"

I looked right into his eyes for some seconds, weighing in my mind if I should tell him the truth or not.

No, not yet, not enough time. I ran a hand through my hair and looked away. "I...look, Sasuke, I will tell you later," the severity of his expression didn't ease in the slightest. I rolled my eyes and lightly punched him in the chest, grinning. "Let's go now, big fella, and sit away from me—I ain't have no desire deal with Ino and Sakura today."

Sasuke scowled at the reminder of these two but didn't ask me anything more about my mood. Scoffing, he shoved me out of the way and took the lead on the way to the classroom. What a rude bastard.

* * *

All the loud and meaningless chitchat of the Academy's crowd ceased when we walked past the entrance of the classroom. I was without my orange clothes here for the first time in years, so I can't fault them for the sudden silence—even more seeing how Sasuke was by my side.

They never understood the fact that I was the only one he talked with, other than Hinata sometimes.

It didn't matter because the brunt of the surprise was due to my presence. Without my large neon orange jumpsuit and moronic smile, now standing straight, I could be as well a completely different person.

"That's Naruto?" I picked Chouji whispering to Shikamaru, who had labeled me and everything about me as troublesome some years ago. Smart guy. The Nara just shrugged at the question and yawned, going back to his nap after giving me a once over.

More of them started talking again and I rolled my eyes.

I bumped my fist with Sasuke and, of course, just ignored them. I could already hear Ino and Sakura coming from the outside, horns locked in their foolish cold war for Sasuke's affections and I really didn't have it on me to care about it or discuss seating arrangements with these two, which I would have to do if I remained next to the Uchiha.

Not today.

Looking around to find a vacant desk, I walked to the one at Hinata's side and sat here, feeling my mood lightening more and more by the second. Hinata always had that kind of presence which made everyone feel more peaceful and calm around her.

It was unusual for me. Normally I wouldn't want anything to do with peace and calm.

"Hello, Hinata-chan." I greeted her, giving a big smile.

Her cheeks were dusted by pink and she visibly forced his fingers to not begin poking together as it was her habit—at least before I got my claws on her.

Instead, she gave me her own smile. "Hello, Naruto-kun."

Hinata. She was a real beauty—both from the inside and the outside. She grew her hair longer last year, almost until her hips now, and the hime haircut framed nicely her face and her lavender eyes. She was just fourteen years old in contrast to my fifteen but was well on her way to becoming a gorgeous woman—more than she already was.

It was a proud point for me that her bulky coat, a relic of the time when she still had less confidence, found itself abandoned in a trash can some months ago. She had now a new form-fitting jacket colored cream and lavender, an outfit which was completed by blue pants and sandals.

Only I knew that, under the jacket and shirt, there was a little pendant of a star in a delicate chain dangling around her neck.

"Everyone be quiet!" Iruka-sensei said as he strode on the classroom. He stopped to look at me, noticing the obvious changes in my body and posture—funny how small you can appear with baggy clothes and walking hunched down. "Naruto, what in the world happened to you?"

While I was searching for a suitable answer, Iruka was waiting for me to talk and tapping his foot with impatience. Eh, fuck it—let's improvise.

"Delayed puberty," I said, smiling innocently and bobbing my head up and down like it was the most common thing in the world. "Medic-nin in the hospital said that the Uzumaki Clan genes are finally acting. Weird, yeah?"

 **"Smooth, Naruto. Very smooth.** " Natsumi mocked.

My half-assed excuse caused a look of absolute disbelief to spread on Iruka's face, but he didn't ask more. Probably, for the sake of his sanity, he just relegated the episode to an obscure corner of his mind and decided to never think about it again.

People did it all the time, mostly with things about me.

Sakura, however, didn't. "What is that about a Uzumaki Clan, Iruka-sensei? I remember them appearing in some of your lectures, but you never focused on them."

My neck almost snapped with the speed it turned to face her. There wasn't anything on her face that would suggest she was trying to put me down or mock me—just honest curiosity. I couldn't understand it.

"The Uzumaki Clan," Iruka-sensei began, a smile on his lips. You could say anything about him—but the man _liked_ to teach. "They were a clan from Uzushiogakure, an island next to the Wave Country. I can bet, though, that everyone knows some members of it—or at least one of their most famous members, to be exact. Uzumaki Mito, the wife of the Shodaime Hokage."

Uncharacteristically, the whole class was paying attention to him now.

"Naruto has a clan?!" Sakura asked, her eyes wide with surprise and darting from me to Iruka and then me again. "He is related to Shodaime-sama?! Isn't he an orphan?"

 **"You are more right than you think, girl,"** Natsumi laughed.

"I _had_ a clan," I corrected her, my voice echoing in the silence of the classroom. "Not anymore. I am the last one."

The atmosphere was kind of uncomfortable, now. Sasuke looked in my direction—we did talk about it last year, joking about how we were the last remnants of our clans. He gave me a slightly, almost imperceptibly, nod, and I returned it.

I didn't want pity and he knew it, all he offered was understanding.

He wasn't my friend for nothing.

Iruka coughed, averting her eyes from me. "That's why we don't talk about the Uzumaki Clan in the classroom anymore. It's a sore object to us—so much that we honor them with the symbol on our official flak jackets," was that real sadness in his voice? "Three villages ganged against the Uzumaki in the Third Shinobi War, in the event called The Drowning of Uzushiogakure, where—"

"Kumo. Kiri. Iwa," I said through my gritted teeth. "Wee bastards got together and came to destroy Uzushiogakure like the cowards they were. Cocksuckers feared the Uzumaki as we were good—no, not good, the _best—_ at the Sealing Arts. They feared it and so, while Konoha was distracted by some platoons of them in the war, they sent the rest of their boys to our island."

I knew that story perfectly—it was detailed in the Uzumaki Codex, a last-ditch effort to record our story before it was sent back to Konoha by my grandfather's wife, and it still filled me with _rage_ about how their demise was perfectly avoidable if the other nations weren't such a bunch of cowardly pussies.

I gave a feral smile. "The Uzumaki gave better than they got and fought back—in the end, though, they were too many. Three Kages and their apprentices were there after all… but we didn't fall without a fight. Oh no, it took three days. Three fucking days. They won, but in the end, we made them _pay_ the price. With blood."

Sakura was looking at me with a slack jaw. She never saw me talking like that, you know, knowledgeable and angry—I could understand why she was shocked. But that was not all—there was sadness written all over her face too. Real sadness at hearing what happened to my clan.

Jiji words about her echoed again in my mind. Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't have been such a bad choice for my team.

"The survivors were scattered, most were hunted or changed identities. Mum was here in Konohagakure as kind of a representative, so she survived—her name was Uzumaki Kushina," I laughed, bitterly. "She saved all of your asses in the Kyuubi incident but no one talks about her. No, the tale they tell is about the bright and loved Yondaime and how his perfectly shiny ass saved us all."

I felt Hinata's hand on mine and found, just then, that I had my hands balled into fists. I forced myself to calm down, taking a deep calming breath after seeing the worry in her eyes, and looked back to Iruka.

I didn't know if his surprised expression was due to the fact I was shitting on the Yondaime or if it was because I knew who my mother was, maybe it could be that he was that much desperate to not touch the Kyuubi's subject with me in the room.

"Sorry, Iruka-sensei, you can go on."

I looked through the window for a bit, trying to regain control over my own feelings after my little speech here.

Someone, though, whispered a question to me. "You really dislike them, don't you?"

I turned to see Hinata asking me that—her expression, she was actually worried about me. Her hand was still firmly put over mine, even if I wasn't trembling anymore.

"I hate them," I answered, my voice low. "I hate them _like hell_. Fuckers ripped my clansmen apart, not because we did some shit against them or because we were at war—Uzushio was neutral. Just for fear. Just because they feared us, feared what we could do and what we could become. Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri. I would burn all of them to ashes _now_ with my own hands if I could."

Then turned to Hinata-chan and smiled, even if I felt that my smile was slightly strained. "But that's all in the past, _ne?_ So let's not dwell on this anymore."

"I understand how you feel, Naruto-kun," Hinata nodded, another kind smile finding the way to her lips. "And thank you for telling me that."

No, Hinata wasn't the one who should be thanking someone now.

She would understand too, thinking about it. The Hyuga Affair wasn't secret and that fucked up thing that happened with the last Kumo envoy was still relatively fresh in Konoha's story.

She turned back to Iruka-sensei's lecture about how Uzushiogakure's fall affected the war, but not before she squeezed my hand for a last time before she let it go.

Thank god I pulled that fast one on Jiji and enlisted her in our team. I let the background sounds of Sakura rapidly firing questions to Iruka die, I let my head lie in my arms to try and sleep a little.

'My tactical genius can surprise me sometimes.' I thought to Natsumi, still happy that I managed to convince Jiji to put Hinata on my team. 'Even if Sakura got some brownie points with me today, it doesn't matter—my ways assured that Hinata will be with us!'

 **"Why, yes, a genius,"** she said, slightly dragging the last word. **"The same genius who wanted to create a sealing array for summoning ramen directly from Ichiraku's and caught Ayame panties instead."** Nat, clearly, wasn't all that impressed with my strategic prowess.

I blushed, remembering that incident. 'It was just one time.'

She answered in a sing-song voice. **"Black, lacy pan-ties…"**

Closing the connection with a snort, I did my best to banish these thoughts from my mind and chastised myself. _Bad Naruto, don't think about the undergarments of your sister figure!_

So I focused on what the fuck was happening around me.

Iruka, after fielding Sakura's questions. promptly changed to his lecturing voice—a powerful narcotic in its own right, "Now, class, it's time we talk about the graduation exam! First, we will have a written test…"

I tuned him off and raised my face out of the comfort from my arms to give a look of despair to Hinata. She let a giggle slip through her carefully composed expression and I banged my forehead on my desk.

Loudly.

The joys of being in a learning environment—would they never end?

* * *

The written exam was made, predictably, of a bunch of useless drivel which anyone with half a brain knew that wouldn't be worth shit in the battlefield. Gladly, that was finished, and we proceeded to the taijutsu bouts—which were variating between deplorable, passable and in Hinata-chan's case, a massacre against her opponent.

Ino didn't even touch her.

Way to go, princess. I gave her a thumbs up and a toothy grin, just waiting for Iruka to call the next fight. I had a passingly suspicion about who would be my opponent if Mizuki's grin was anything to go by.

Sucker.

"Now, Uchiha Sasuke versus Uzumaki Naruto! Enter the arena, boys."

I stood up, walking slowly to the center of the arena—staring at Sasuke all the gave a confident smirk and followed me, mimicking my actions as I made the Seal of Confrontation. He then assumed a stance of the Uchiha's trademark taijutsu style, the Interceptor Fist.

"Ready to lose?" Sasuke asked.

I scoffed. "Please. Come at me with your best shot."

The smirk on Sasuke's face only grew larger. He then changed his stance into something I didn't knew—maybe a bastardized version of Crane with grappling? What the actual fuck?

"You will find that this time will be different," he said. "I know how good you are against the Interceptor Fist—so, how will you deal with a style you don't know?"

The Interceptor Fist was very useful with a Sharingan to enhance your reaction time against your opponents—but without one? Too many openings. To be really efficient, he needed for me to attack first and hope that he could be faster than me.

Sasuke knew he wasn't, so obviously he was working in a surprise against me. And now, finally, he showed his hand—in a public demonstration, no less.

Shit.

I needed to be _careful._

I knew how to deal with Interceptor Fist without killing him by accident—I knew the style from Kakashi and Mikoto. I knew what he would do and react when he fought with it. Whatever was he trying to do now? That was _new._ Something he prepared _against me._

If I misjudged a punch, caught in the haze of the fight, or he moved in a way I didn't anticipate as I attacked, I could _kill_ him. I wouldn't take that risk against a friend.

"I want a clean fight—only taijutsu and no ninjutsu. Am I clear?" Iruka asked, looking at our banter with narrowed eyes. I nodded. Sasuke just gave a slight tilt of his head to acquiesce the instructions.

"Good. Hajime!" he said, jumping out of our way.

Sasuke jumped in my direction, trying to gain the upper hand, and let out a punch in the direction of my head. I dodged easily. He then began an onslaught of punches and kicks, all of which I just blocked or let fly past me.

I blocked a knee coming to my belly and pushed him away with a palm in the chest. He was good. Very good, at least compared with the actual crop of students. He turned the impulse of the shove into a spin and tried to sweep my feet from under me.

I was trained to react by instinct. Thinking before attacking was making me _slow._

I raised the foot he targeted, letting the attack pass under me, then tried to kick his face. Sasuke apparently counted on it—he raised his hands, softening the blow, and pushed me with him to the ground, aiming for a leglock.

"Oh bitch, you don't!" I shouted, yanking my leg out of his grip.

"Got you!" he yelled, changing his balance with his arms and kicking me in the face, then he cartwheeled back and jumped to his feet, adopting his stance again with a smile on his lips. "First blood is mine."

I got up and touched my lip—the finger came red with blood. Then I laughed.

"You're _so_ on now, bastard," I said, and shoot into his direction. We began exchanging blows in a speed that had been unseen, until then, in that field on this day—he sent a punch to my face, I blocked with my forearm and tried to elbow him in the head, which he deflected with his own free hand.

He matched punch with a punch, kick with kick until he finally found an opening, slammed his fist on my gut and threw me back with a shoulder shove.

Sasuke's smile, though, had diminished with each attack until it disappeared.

"You're off balance. Your reactions are lagging, you are acting without the speed I know you have, and you are moving like something is weighing you. You are _weak,_ " he said, his voice a hiss so low that only I could hear. " _What have you done with yourself?_ "

"Sasuke, you—" I tried to talk, but my voice died in my throat. What could I say?

He stopped for some seconds, studying me before understanding dawned on his face.

"You are not taking me seriously," he said, still with that low tone and with wide eyes, deftly catching up on what was happening. "You are pulling your punches."

His dad had trained him to assume the post of Police Force chief, as Itachi would be the Clan Head—and he did a damned good job at it. Sasuke was good as hell in catching little details like that until he could form a conclusion, and this ability was turned against me now.

I couldn't see him reacting very good to a revelation like that one.

I was proved right almost instantly.

He was suddenly upon me, his face contorted in an ugly scowl. I blocked his attacks as I could, but he didn't stop—hell, I don't think he even _thought_ of stopping. He came like a raging berserker, punching me in the face and collarbone, then elbowed my belly and spun, kicking me in the back. He kept going on and on, even as he had already tackled me to the ground and began punching my face relentlessly.

"Why?" I heard that hiss again before he put a leg on my chest and smashed my nose with his fist. "Why aren't you fighting me like before?!" Sasuke asked, still punching me. I felt my nose breaking as he elbowed it, my face being punished hard enough to crack the bone. "Why the fuck are you taking it easy with _me?!_ "

I felt blood filling my mouth and dripping from my nose—the cartilage breaking and mending together with each attack, just to break again. Sasuke was still spitting accusations with me with every punch with fury clear in his tone. He went on and on until I couldn't take it anymore.

I blocked one of his punches with my forearm.

"Because I don't want to kill you!" I answered and snaked a hand to the back of his head, then _yanked_ his head down and headbutted him. One time. Two times. Three times—until his eyes were almost glazed from the impacts.

I held him by the throat and rolled to the side, now rising above him. People began yelling all around the arena, but I didn't care enough to recognize what they were saying.

"I don't want to kill you, fool!" I gave him back for the punches I took. Sasuke didn't have a Bijuu in his gut—he hadn't my strength, nor my healing, so every punch I gave _hurt._ Every punch I gave was a new bruise, a new wound. "Why can't ya understand, you bastard?"

I caught my breath and blew my hair from my face, turning to the side to spit a wad of blood. I needed to end it quick.

I took advantage of his dizziness and caught him in a rear naked choke, feeling his neck straining between my arms. Sasuke fought against it, spit flying from his lips and growling coming from his throat—the choke was firmly set and he couldn't talk. I held him like that until I felt his strength slacking and that his fingers had stopped scratching my arms.

"Stop!" Iruka yelled, yanking me away from him and throwing me on the ground. "The victory is yours! Stop"

I tried to catch my breathing, adrenaline still pumping through my veins from that fight. I supported myself with my elbows and looked at Sasuke, who was still awake and shooing Iruka away giving him treatment. I got to my feet and walked in his direction, my face blank, then stopped before my downed opponent.

Sasuke, if I had fought honestly, would be smiling. Even in defeat, he would take his loss like a man and want to come back to the fight—smarter and stronger, so he wouldn't repeat the error that cost him the victory. Like I, he liked to fight, and fight with a worthy opponent.

What I did had hurt his pride. He wasn't smiling now.

I made the Seal of Reconciliation with one hand and offered him the other. He looked at me with rage still in his eyes, and, for a second, I thought he wouldn't take my hand—yet, he caught it. He pushed himself up and, by his own design or accident, came close enough so only I could hear what he whispered in my ear.

"We will have words later," Sasuke said, still with that venomous tone, before he shoved me out of the way with his shoulder and walked away without looking back. I rubbed my face with my cleaner hand.

I felt tired beyond all belief.

"Yeah," I said, more to myself than anyone else. "Reckon we will."

* * *

Mizuki obviously wasn't very confident in my mental capabilities when he came to me with that bullshit of a plan. Before that, I got that little exam of basic jutsus and succeeded in it, almost without trying.

What a surprise.

Then, with the newly acquired and pretty shiny hitai-ate I got from it, I had every intention to get the fuck out of the Academy as fast as I could—before Sasuke could corner me—and talk to Jiji about Mizuki and his bullshit.

Apparently, it was not to be.

"Uzumaki," someone called from my side. Fuck me.

I turned to Sasuke, trying to fight down the annoyance I felt about the conversation we would certainly have, just to be surprised by the sight of him. Sasuke's face was a mass of yellow and purple bruises with the worst wounds hidden behind bandages.

Then I saw his eyes—shit, he was _serious._

"Yes?" I asked, averting my eyes from him.

"You look at me while I am talking to you," he said with a low, deceptive calm, voice—just before he sustained another staredown with me. "You will explain to me why you acted like I was a child in that sparring. I know how you fight—what you did was nothing less than spitting on me. On my honor and my pride."

"Look Sasuke, I can—" I said, raising my hands in defense.

"Be quiet," Sasuke ordered, walking near me in silence with his hands in his pockets. "You wasn't fighting, you _let_ me beat you. You felt pity for me—something I never did to you," he said, a vein twitching in his forehead. He then turned to look at the horizon. "I want to know why you did act like that today."

"I—"

"I want to know why," he proceeded without paying attention to me, "because I know you. You love the fight, Uzumaki, as I do. You are free when you fight, you don't have it on you to do _anything_ because of a misguided sense of fairness and pity. You pity no one, again, like I do. Yet, today?"

He paused and doubled down to pick a stone from the ground.

"Today you fought like you didn't want to fight me. Like you wanted to let me win in which would be a tasteless victory," Sasuke said, opening his hands and letting the fragments of the stone fall to the ground. "From someone other than you, I would think they did because I am a Uchiha. Maybe because they thought I needed to look good to my peers. But not you."

He came near me, finally looking me in the eyes again, coming closer until his face was just some centimeters from mine. Sasuke black eyes were burning with an intensity I seldom saw in his face—not the normal contempt he felt for those sycophants or anything like that. It was a raw feeling of pure scorn. Disdain, even.

The kind of look he reserved to talk about Itachi.

"Tell me," he said again, putting a hand on the trunk of the tree just an inch from my head. I smelled blood. "Tell me that this fool I saw today isn't the real Naruto. Tell me that this weakling, that worm who would disrespect his friend, is not you. Tell me why, or we are done. You can be the godfather of Tomoe, you can be my mom's friend, but _we will be fucking done_ ," Sasuke hissed, his jaw clenched in rage and his voice cracking for the first time.

"Tell me that you aren't just a condescending and lying traitor like that man was."

Sasuke said that, and I knew there hadn't a worse insult in his mind than to compare someone with Itachi.

He said that like he _meant_ it.

The disappointment he showed _hurt._

"Fine!" I shouted right at his face. He didn't flinch. "You askin' me to tell why I pulled my punches? Fine! I did it because I didn't know what the fuck you were doing and because I didn't know what you would do. Because if I didn't, I wouldn't have my fucking friend here anymore!" I pushed him away from me—stronger than I intended. He didn't fall, but staggered a little.

I fished around my pocket for a while and put a cigarette on my lips, setting it alight with a snap of my fingers. It dulled the world around me—reassuring when you simply _feels_ too much. Didn't make me calm, but helped a little.

"You remember what I said before I ended that shit of a fight, Uchiha?!"

Sasuke stared at me again. I knew him, he remembered _perfectly_. His mind won't allow him to forget what he understood as pity, like someone calling him weak.

"Yes," he finally answered. "Yes. I remember."

I closed my eyes and took a deep drag of the cigarette to center my own mind—a thing I found myself doing more and more since I woke up and met Jiji. I leaned over the tree that Sasuke used to corner me and felt the bark with my palm—solid, heavy, old.

Breakable.

"Watch closely," I said, slowly, finally opening my eyes and looking at the humongous tree, "and understand."

I closed my free hand into a fist and punched the tree with all my unrestrained, natural strength—feeling the elation of letting myself go, even if just barely. I heard the whistle of the air being abruptly displaced from the punch in the split second before my knuckles made contact with wood.

Then it exploded.

With a shockwave strong enough to make my hair fly back, the tree was _pulverized._ It didn't break, it didn't fall, it was completely destroyed in a cloud of splinters and old dust, ripped from the earth by the strength of my punch like it weighed less than a feather. _N_ _othing_ remained anymore on the spot it occupied.

"That's why I pulled my punches, Sasuke," I said without looking at him. "I am strong. Stronger than you—at least for now. I know your usual fighting style, I would know what you would do in the fight if you had been using the Interceptor Fist. But you changed the game and my hand was too strong me for me to play my cards."

I sighed.

"You said I was free and that I loved the fight and you got the right idea here. I love it so much that, if I don't restrain myself, or if I lose myself—I could end killing you there. It would be so easy, Sasuke. A wayward punch, a stronger grab. An accident," I turned back to look at him. He was watching me, still, the only visible effects of my demonstration being that he was some few shades paler.

"I haven't pulled no punches because I was thinking less of you. I pulled them because I _knew_ you would die if I didn't. Mikoto doesn't deserve to lose a son nor Tomoe deserves to lose a brother. They already did, one time too many."

 _And I don't deserve to lose a friend,_ I thought. Didn't say it, though.

Sasuke didn't answer immediately, just keep looking at me until he finally nodded, the tension in his shoulders relaxing back to his normal posture. I walked past him, pausing to talk to him for a last time before people came to see what the fuck was that commotion just next to the Academy.

"Someday I will tell you everything, I swear," I said, smiling for the first time since he cornered me. "Not now, though. I need to see the Hokage—but you know as good as I do that Uzumaki Naruto never, ever, breaks his promises."

"Yeah, I know," he said and a ghost of a smile finally appeared on his face again, "and you better do it sooner than later. Assuming you don't get killed for being an ass to the Hokage today."

I laughed and began walking again. Still, I needed to make something clear to Sasuke. "Oh, and if you _try,_ even _think_ , of comparing me with Itachi again, I will rip you into pieces and feed 'em to the Inuzuka dogs, you fucking bastard."

* * *

It was surprisingly easy to steal the Forbidden Scroll.

Even easier when you just show up, explain the situation and ask the Hokage to do a solid one for you here and let you deal with Mizuki instead of just sending a squad of ANBU to subdue him in the woods.

 **"I am not surprised with the state of the graduating class if someone _this much_ ****incapable of basic deception was your teacher,"** Natsumi said, disapproval clear in her voice.

I was hidden in the woods at a safe distance from my Shadow Clone with the "Forbidden Scroll". It wasn't the real thing, obviously—I held the scroll for some seconds, made a Shadow Clone and gave it back to Jiji. There was nothing written here, just a doppelganger of its form made of my chakra.

But Mizuki didn't need to know that.

"I know, right?" I answered, scratching the back of my neck. "I swear that—wait, someone's coming."

I tensed up in my position, ready to intervene if it was Mizuki. My orders were clear—let him talk, let him gloat, find whatever I could before taking him down and handing his sorry ass to Morino Ibiki.

"Naruto-baka, what you're thinking?!" I heard a shout coming from whoever was approaching my clone—wait, that wasn't Mizuki smell. "I know you like a good prank, but stealing the Forbidden Scroll? Explain yourself!"

Natsumi gave voice to what both of us were thinking. **"What."**

That wasn't Mizuki. That was—

"Iruka-sensei," I said under my breath with wide eyes. What the fuck was he doing here? More than that, how the hell he followed me when I was certain I managed to wipe any traces of my presence? "The fuck?"

 **"It seems there's more than your dolphin-sensei than the eyes can see,"** Nat quickly recovered from her shock. **"Now,** _ **that's**_ **interesting! And here comes Mizuki."**

My duplicate couldn't even answer before a wall of shurikens came spiraling from the trees. Iruka reacted fast, faster than I ever saw him doing, and tackled the clone out of the attacks range—stumbling with the other me to the ground.

I tensed again, just waiting the right moment to enter the fight as Mizuki finally appeared perched on the top of a branch.

 **"That's just a clone,"** Natsumi said. **"We need to wait."**

Before I could react, though, Mizuki stopped gloating and threw that giant fūma shuriken he carried on his back in their direction with a fluidity that belied his experience with the weapon. The same oversized shuriken that Iruka-sensei then took directly in his back, point first.

And he did it to protect my clone—who was _me,_ to his eyes.

My jaw hit the floor. I thought Iruka-sensei only tolerated me, and barely at that because he didn't want to suffer the same fate as the others teachers before him.

I liked the man, but I never fully trusted him.

To see the same man completely willing to take a grievous injury just to protect me, or who he thought was me, shocked me into inaction. After all, I knew Iruka's story with the Kyuubi attack.

Why would he do that?

I looked at Mizuki and saw he yelling to the clone about the fact that I was the container of the Kyuubi no Kitsune—acting like it was a big secret. Worse, he was talking about it like I was the fox herself.

 **"Naruto, you bad boy! You never said to me that you are the Kyuubi! Should I be scared of you, big bad demon fox?"**

I smiled, still shocked by Iruka's actions. 'Why yes, you should be very afraid, my innocent little vixen.'

Just when I began creeping in the direction of Mizuki's to disable him, he rushed in a dead run after Iruka, who had discretely Henged himself into my own form. Sighing in annoyance, I jumped into the clearing, sniffed the air and began following the scent of these two men.

You can say anything about the chunin—and for what I was seeing, chunin my ass—Umino Iruka, but the magnificent bastard was jumping around the trees completely undeterred by the fact that he had the point of a fucking giant Fuuma Shuriken firmly lodged inside his back.

Ha had some big balls of stainless steel. My respect for him was simply skyrocketing with each passing second.

They finally stopped and I positioned myself in the trees behind Mizuki, who was, again, lost in the middle of a monologue about how great he was and yadda-yadda. He really liked to hear his own voice.

Before I could interrupt him, Iruka answered his proclamation that I was a demon who would use the Scroll to exact revenge upon the village.

Against my better judgment, I waited. I wouldn't let Iruka be hurt again, but I wanted to know what he really thought about me—no, I _needed_ to know it. If the fact he took that shuriken for me was merely an accident, or...

"Yes, I agree. A monster would do exactly that, steal the Forbidden Scroll and use its power to take his revenge against the people living in the village," well, there it is—yeat, Iruka hadn't finished. "But Naruto-kun wouldn't. He isn't a monster nor is he the Kyuubi reborn! Uzumaki Naruto is a proud shinobi of the Leaf and would never stoop so low as doing it!"

For the second time in that night, that man surprised me.

What did I do for him to earn such faith in myself? I couldn't even imagine. I never opened myself up to him, never paid much attention to him in the school, and I surely never thought of him as anything more than a teacher.

Maybe he was just a truly good man, rare as they are these days.

Mizuki laughed and brought an arm back in preparation to launch the second Fuuma Shuriken—just as my clone came into the clearing. Iruka closed his eyes and waited for his death, his wound taking his toll on him—probably thinking that the ruse against me would be successful and I would be hunted for the stealing.

"Now, you will die! Just to protect you beloved Kyuubi brat and—"

"Oh, go suck a cock," I heard my clone whispering under his breath. He then blurred in movement and punched Mizuki before he could throw the last Fuuma Shuriken. Right in the face. Hard enough to make the man fly in my direction as fist met flesh with a crack of thunder—at least until I caught him by the back of his neck.

"I say the fella who talks the loudest is the one who does the least," I spat to the side, punching Mizuki again by instinct and closing my eyes, a giant smile stretching my lips.

 **"Naruto, what—"**

"Be quiet a bit, I want to enjoy the moment," I said to Nat, dismissing the Shadow Clone and receiving the memories of him hearing Mizuki's drivel in first person point of view—and then the punch. That glorious, immaculate, and simply divine punch. "Shit, I love Shadow Clones so much. I really, really, love them."

I took a deep and satisfying breath and opened my eyes, looking at the chunin gurgling under the vice grip I had on him.

"You know, boy? I had a pretty crappy day today," I said with a happy voice. "Jiji fired me in the morning and on the Academy I was so worked up that I almost ran to Iwa to eat the Tsuchikage's heart. All Sakura's fault. After that, Sasuke decided to let his balls drop and confront me like the _prima donna_ he really is deep inside."

I headbutted him, shaking my head after the impact.

"That was fucked up—thankfully, all was solved after the graduation," I keep the chirpy tone in my voice and bashed his head against a tree, then I raised his face to my eye level, completely uncaring about the blood flowing freely from his destroyed nose and busted mouth. "Now, now, some _fucking traitor_ decides that he feels like trying to steal the goddamned Forbidden Scroll and even has the balls to hurt my fucking teacher!" I yelled, spit actually flying from my mouth.

"But not all is lost!" I threw him to the ground and stomped over his right kneecap—feeling it crunch under my heel. "'Cause that traitor, probably from the goodness of his heart, just gave me an opportunity to vent and hurt someone!" and here goes the left kneecap. "So, Mizuki, from the bottom of my heart—thank you, and go fuck yourself!"

I punctuated the yell by kicking him in the ribs strong enough for him to shoot like a stray kunai until he slammed his back against a big rock some meters from us. He plopped to the ground, limp as a ragdoll, and it was obvious he wouldn't get up anytime soon.

"How this shitstain managed to become a chunin is an mystery for the ages," I spat on the ground from disgust, then I made a circular motion with my finger. "He is all yours now, lads!"

Picking my clue, a swarm of ANBU's appeared from the trees, quickly and efficiently securing the traitor off the ground. A masked man, a seven feet tall behemoth with a Boar mask, walked in my direction. "Thank you, Kits—no, it's Naruto now, isn't it?"

"Yeah, Boar. Jiji fired me today's morning," I gave him a sly smile. "Don't think I won't come to the HQ Friday to the poker night, though. Oh, and tell Ibiki that I caught a distinctly _reptilian_ scent on this fool."

Boar eyes hardened and he nodded, disappearing in a shunshin with the other operatives. Mizuki's life wouldn't be too good after that.

Sighing, I walked to the tree that Iruka was leaning on, picking him up and slinging his arm over my shoulders without saying a word. Just as I began to run with him to the hospital, he apparently woke up.

"What in the-" mumbled Iruka, then he opened an eye with effort and looked at me, "Naruto? What are you still doing here?"

"Taking a walk," I said, smiling at his incredulous expression. "A rather enthusiastic walk. Turns out that stealing relics gets boring after some time."

"But I saw you-"

"Calm down sensei, I will explain everything—at least the much I can," I said the last part under my breath, then gave his wound a searching look. "Now just let's go to the hospital. Didn't you know that there are things that shouldn't be stabbed by giant shurikens in your back? Like, your _spine_? Goddamnit, man."

He wiped the blood out of his mouth and, with what I could swear was a mischievous smile that had no place on his normally stern face, he kept my pace without arguing or asking for me to slow down.

Natsumi whistled. **"That thing I said about the quality of your Academy teachers? Scratch it. Everyone has a terminal case of being fucking crazy in this village, and now I just found out that your senseis are no different."**

I just nodded in agreement with my mouth open.

What _the fuck_ was this man made of?

* * *

"And then he said I was the Kyuubi in human form, the fool. I kicked his sorry ass around for a bit and all," I said, opening my arms. "It was an laugh—the fool said it like that was something of a big secret or anything."

The Hokage laughed and took a drag of his pipe.

"Foolish young man, oh well, he is Ibiki's problem now. You did a great service for us today in bringing that traitor down, Naruto," Jiji said and smiled kindly at me. "If that's all, I will sign this mission as your first B-Rank out of the ANBU, and you can go and rest now."

My smile disappeared from my face. That was time to make the decision—the one I was warring with even since that talk about the Uzumaki Clan. I would not go through my future alone anymore—there would be people with me. Teammates. People I trusted, my friends.

People I was keeping secrets from, as Sasuke kindly reminded me.

Iruka-sensei's showing of loyalty just cemented my decision about what I needed to do.

"Actually, there's one more thing Jiji," I said, looking right into his eyes. "I was playing with this around my mind for a bit and I finally found the right answer. I wanna tell my teammates everything—my time in the ANBU, about the Kyuubi, everything. Iruka… Iruka-sensei showed me that they don't deserve to be kept in the dark. They deserve to know all about me, about my story, and I want your permission for that."

Jiji didn't answer immediately. He studied my face, seriously, probably searching for something in my eyes that showed him I was sincere. I waited for him to decide, my hands clasped behind my back in a showing of respect.

The Hokage then snapped his fingers.

"ANBU Hare," he said to the ninja that appeared before him. "I want you to bring Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata, and Hatake Kakashi to my office—and I want it now. I don't care if they are sleeping or if Hiashi-san will raise a stink about it, that's an order from their Hokage."

The ANBU bowed in the Hokage's direction before he disappeared in another shunshin.

"You are not in the Black Ops anymore, Naruto-kun," Jiji said. "I trust your judgment, and I will permit it—I will even give your permission to tell them classified information about everything you think is relevant, even your lineage, and your… tenant. I will not call Iruka-san because I have a report that he's actually sedated in the hospital, but the permission I am giving to you extends to him if you want, too."

He then took a breath, averting his eyes and looking to the outline of Konohagakure spreading beyond his window, firmly nestled under the Hokage Monument. "I just hope they will not take it in the way most of the people out there do."

I nodded in agreement and sat on the chair before his desk, feeling a smile stretching my lips—despite how tired I felt. There would be no more masks, no more secrets, no more need to hide. No more of that cloak and dagger bullshit. I finally could be honest with my friends.

A weight had been taken off my shoulders and that made me feel good—alive, even.

I gently touched the red braided cord I used as a bracelet. "Ain't no need for hope, Jiji. I trust them."

* * *

 **Engraved in Stone  
** _"Do not go gently into the good night. Rage, rage, against the dying of the light."_

"I am recalling all our operations in the Land of Fire until second order."

"What?!" Kurotsuchi asked, her eyes wide in surprise. She crossed her arms and looked at his grandfather—the Tsuchikage, seated behind his desk with an air of defeat. She couldn't understand why he would do that. The report she had handed to him just mentioned the newest facts they had about Konoha's new jinchūriki, which had seldom been known before they managed to squirrel some information away.

The Tsuchikage sighed and gave her a look.

"Konoha has a new Uzumaki in their ranks. The jinchūriki at that, as I saw here in the report—a blond kid who looks like he was created in a vat of steroids. Can you believe it? A new Uzumaki coming out of the woodwork."

Kurotsuchi wasn't impressed.

"What's the issue? Sure, he is a jinchūriki, but why it's so bad he is a Uzumaki? You seem to not care if he is a jinchūriki or not, grandfather!" she said, tapping her foot and waiting for the answer.

"The issue is that I remember Uzushiogakure," the old Tsuchikage answered, swirling the cup of sake he held in his hand. "I remember all too well—and now they put that blasted Nine-Tails inside another Uzumaki, one that apparently knows his story. One that, if our spies are to be trusted, is basically Hiruzen's grandson."

"That can't bad as you are saying," Kurotsuchi said and looked at him with wide eyes, suddenly feeling some uneasiness as his defeated expression wasn't abated. "Why… why that's so bad? He's just a boy—even if he has great ancestors, sure we can take him if we wanted to. Couldn't we?"

The Tsuchikage held her gaze for almost a minute without saying anything, making her feel nervous by the second, then snorted and looked away. Kurotsuchi—his black-eyed, fair skinned, granddaughter—was still so naive about the ways of the world.

Not Ohnoki, though. He had experience and had seen a great many things during his life—some he treasured, like the growing of his family, and some he tried his best to forget.

The Drowning of Uzushiogakure was firmly settled into the second category.

"Sit down, child, and learn," he didn't raise his voice or show his emotions, but that was an order nonetheless—and one Kurotsuchi obeyed. "I remember that day when Mu came to me saying we would give a fatal wound to Uzushiogakure and their power. I was excited—I was young, naive and the prospect of putting my name in the story with that battle made me eager. We rounded a great part of our forces and, meeting with Kumogakure and Kirigakure's platoons, we sailed to Uzushio."

The Tsuchikage closed his eyes and took a sip of his drink.

"I still remember that day. Sun shining over us, an infinitude of boats coming to wage battle. I was proud of my village and even prouder of their willingness to fight, I was feeling _alive, invincible_ " Ohnoki snorted again. "Foolish notion. The whirlpools were the first thing—they weren't normal, we needed all of our Suiton users to even _calm_ these things. Even then, our boats were damaged beyond all belief because they _moved_. We needed to water walk for the last mile so we could come to shore."

Ohnoki looked back to Kurotsuchi, a bitter smile on his lips. "Most of our boats, almost one hundred Suiton users dying of chakra exhaustion, many warriors dying for carelessness while they edged the whirlpools. The Uzumaki clan had begun to exact their toll on us and we weren't even on the shore yet. In hindsight, we should have taken it as a signal."

He paused, drumming his fingers on the chair with closed eyes. Kurotsuchi had never seen an expression like that on her grandfather's face—pain was written over all these aged lines and sorrow, nor had she seem the faraway look he had in his eyes after he opened them.

"Then we came to solid ground and attacked. Three Kages, two apprentices, against a clan made of maybe five hundred, pushing a thousand, people—that probably would be a massacre, no?" Ohnoki shook his head. "It wasn't. First, there were the seals, they were everywhere—in the chaos I saw people blowing up, being ripped apart, having their jutsu sealed just to be fired against them, disappearing—and worse, being pushed inside _things…_ but we pressed on. We fought on and threw more and more people on the grinder. We thought the seals were the worse part of the fight."

Ohnoki winced. "These devils sure showed us the error of our ways."

He drained the rest of his sake and poured more, taking another gulp before looking back to Kurotsuchi. "That battle was vicious. What was an assault turned in a fight for three days—a fight against a bunch of _demons_. Did you ever see an old woman, the type of granny you would help cross the street, riddled with four kunais in her torso and still clawing for someone's neck? Did you ever see a kid, no older than our youngest genin, with half of his body blown off but still strong enough to hold onto someone's face so he could _blow himself_ with him?"

Ohnoki retold these horrors and his eyes showed he was saying the truth. "These people weren't human. I saw a couple fighting together—the man took a fire jutsu for the woman, a jutsu that should reduce him to ashes. Yet, blackened and scorched and almost unrecognizable, he picked up the one who fired by the throat and ran him through with the stump of his arm—after what he was still trying to get up!" his voice was raised for the first time that day. "Can you imagine, Kurotsuchi? That every civilian, everyone, after being taken down needed to be almost ripped apart until they stopped trying to fucking kill us?!"

The old Tsuchikage then stood up, looking at the fear, awe, and disbelief written all over his heiress' face, and raised his shirt a little bit. His stomach was full of contorted lines of scars like an enraged bear had used him as a plaything. "That was what I received because one of their genins, in a bout of inspiration, saw fit to throw himself from a goddamn tower and fall upon me, kindly screaming for me to fuck off before punching a hole in my belly and leaving an Exploding Tag here. Thank Kami Mu saved me before that thing detonated, or I wouldn't be here anymore."

Kurotsuchi opened her mouth to talk, but couldn't find the words. That level of aggression, of self-abandonment and pure, unadulterated rage, was simply something she couldn't comprehend—they didn't try to survive, they decided that, if they would die, they would simply try and take down everyone with them.

"And the less I talk about their blasted royal line, the better," he said. "The Uzukage, a fellow named Kenshiro, was fighting us nonstop for three days—he didn't stop to eat, or sleep, or even to fucking catch his breath. Our Kage's were preserving our strength, you see," Ohnoki said. "Then we finally caught him with his remaining three guards at the end. We attacked together—three Kages and their apprentices, together, to take him and his guards down. But we failed to account that where we 'accosted' him was his palace. His home turf.

"I never saw these much seals being used in a fight in my life. Everything we threw at him he threw back, made disappear, or twisted in something we needed to defend against. These guards were a piece of work too, as one let himself be impaled in the Sandaime Raikage's fist to protect Kenshiro—and almost cut his hand off for his troubles. We fought for maybe half a day, reducing everything around us to craters—Kenshiro was one of the last ones alive, you know. In the end, though, he fell—and that's the better part! He didn't fall because we got him or because he was too wounded. No, the bastard died of _chakra exhaustion._ "

He sighed, walking around his desk and pointing to the portrait hung on the wall. "I lost my mentor in that fight—Kenshiro got Mu with something that ate his chakra pathways and catalyzed his power into an artifact he wielded, so he could block my Jinton. Kiri lost his Kage, too—not to Kenshiro this time, but his wife, who suddenly appeared from Kami knows where and took a hit for Kenshiro. Then, dying, proceeded to rip the Mizukage apart with her chains. He didn't reform after being turned to water, and the woman died with a smile on her lips."

Kurotsuchi got up and walked to her grandfather, hugging him—she wasn't someone who commonly acted like that, not even to one the people she loved the most in the world, but she decided that Ohnoki needed it. He was looking old and frail, a thing that wasn't common to him, and that she was surprised to be deemed trusted enough to see.

"I still remember Kenshiro last words," Ohnoki said with a haunted voice. "That bastard was on the ground, laughing like a madman, with rage still burning in his eyes and that fucking defiant smile still on his face. Before he passed on, I managed to catch up with him—I, myself, bloodied and battered, and heard what would be his last words."

The Tsuchikage took a deep breath and looked out of his window.

"He said— _you all failed,_ " Ohnoki recited. " _You bunch of weaklings and worms and sniveling cowards failed at taking us down. You can rob Uzushiogakure from us, but know something—we will be back, and we will pay you all back for that._ "

He shook his head.

"Thus ended the Drowning of Uzushiogakure—from thousands, just half a dozen hundred standing. From three Kages, two dead. Konoha won the war because the Uzumaki almost ate us alive on that battle—and they had the last laugh, too. We got away the fastest we could from that hellhole as we saw seals erupting all around, seals that closed our access to the island," Ohnoki shook Kurotsuchi out and walked back to his desk, sitting in his chair—he couldn't find it in himself to even complain about his back in that moment—and interlacing his fingers under his chin.

Kurotsuchi looked at him, visibly shocked by the story. She finally understood a bit, the slightest shred, about how fucking dangerous that bunch of madmen who called themselves a clan had been.

"After that, I became the Tsuchikage, but I never forgot. And now, I finally connected the dots. Kenshiro had a daughter in Konohagakure, Uzumaki Kushina" Ohnoki said, his tone somber. "And with this latest report, I discovered that, apparently, she had a child—Uzumaki Naruto, the same child who is the new container of the Nine-Tails. A truly breed Royal Line Uzumaki, with a chip on his shoulder, the ear of their Hokage, and the most powerful Bijuu shoved inside his gut."

His words hang in the room like a death sentence, a room that suddenly felt too cold and silent for Kurotsuchi's tastes.

"So, yes, Kurotsuchi," the Tsuchikage said with a bitter smile, "I have a passing suspicion that we are, superbly and literally royally, fucked if we cause an issue," he gave her a stare and adopted the tone of command that belied his experience as Tsuchikage. "Spread the word—no Iwa shinobi is to set foot in the Land of Fire until that little shit is dead and buried. That's an order."

* * *

If you liked it, or just want to say something about the chapter, please **review**! Thank you.


	5. Chapter 5 — Sympathy For The Devil

**Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue; I do not own, so please don't sue.**

* * *

 **Chapter Five  
** **Sympathy For The Devil**

Curiosity. Eagerness. Surprise. I saw all of these emotions on their faces—except Jiji's own. The old man knew the score, ugly, wretched things would be brought to light on that night and he already accepted that. Things that he himself buried in enough red tape to drown half of the accountants of Konoha in, secrets I shouldn't tell anyone who hadn't a rank shoved so far up their ass that they would shit kunais and leaves.

But he let me tell them. Because if I couldn't do that, no one would ever do.

That was my story after all.

"Old man, I am thinking this conversation shouldn't be had over just a cup of sake," I said, smiling at him. "Do me a solid one and bring that thing from Kumogakure to the table, yes?"

He raised his eyebrows as an answer but got up to pick the drink on his cabinet anyway. I took my time to study the people before me. Someone had brought some chairs from them to sit before the Hokage's desk, instead of the cozy sofas along the walls.

I would be telling my life to them, the center of attention, let's say, so the old man told me to sit on his chair while he was perfectly fine smoking his pipe close to the window—hell, Jiji even joked that I cut a good figure seated here and he would make a Hokage out of me yet.

Scariest thing I ever heard, let me tell you.

About the guests, well, Hinata was surprised. How many times do you see someone taking ownership of the fucking Hokage's chair in his own office, after all? She didn't say a thing about that, though, too well educated to ask.

Sasuke was another matter entirely. I was completely sure that he already had some inkling about what we would be talking about. He had that gleam in his eyes, you see, that smart gleam of someone whose calculations were proven true. Kind of made me uncomfortable, to be honest.

Kakashi? He was in his usual spot, leaned next to the window with his arms crossed. There was no signal of his book anywhere, it wasn't time for it and even him knew that. Jiji came to the table—his table—and put that new drink, vodka, I think, on a cup for me.

I just gave him my thanks. You can't very well tip the barman when he's your boss, after all.

"You shouldn't smoke," he said with a stern tone. "It's an ugly habit, Naruto-kun."

I just stared him. "The voice of experience talking, heh?" I laughed. "You knew why I do it, since the first time, Jiji. I can smell everything—Sasuke here had teriyaki for dinner, Kakashi hadn't a shower yet today, the stinking pig, and Hinata-chan used that lavender shampoo I—okay, you understood already. I just need it to dull myself a little."

It was more than that, actually. If I wanted to make an effort, I could feel every source even vaguely related to fire in the village. I could feel the sparks coming from Jiji's pipe, the lamps in the streets, the body heat of everyone in the room, everything. When you add that to the fact that I could hear heartbeats and the blood coursing through veins, that I could smell and even _feel_ better than any other person...

Knowing all that, could anyone say I wasn't entitled to a cigarette sometimes?

The Hokage gave me a knowing look and laughed. It's always good to have some fun before the time to push the bones out of the closet and lay them on the table for everyone to see and dissect.

 **"You're stalling,"** Natsumi noted, just as I put the cigarette between my lips.

'I know. Just need to think how to begin.'

 **"Wherever else, Naruto? From the beginning."**

I looked back to all of them.

From the beginning. Of course.

"Let's go, then. I called all of you to talk tonight because I need to tell you the truth. All of it," for a split second, Sasuke's eyes widened, "right from the horse's mouth. First of all, you need to know I had a bit—no, more than a bit, of a hand about your team placement. We here, sans Jiji—which I still think would be awesome, by the way—are Team Seven, and because of that, I need to tell you who I really am."

Hinata made a cute sound of surprise. "That's why Kurenai-sensei was so tense today!"

"Tense?" Kakashi scoffed. "I was here when Hokage-sama talked to her. If we put a lump of coal in the woman's mouth, she would spit shards of diamond right at our face. Trust me about that, tense doesn't even begin to cover _that_."

Jiji winced. Gods, I was so fucking glad that I hadn't been a part of _that_ talk.

I coughed to draw their attention again. "So, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. I was part of the ANBU since I was ten years old and I am the jinchūriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. I have been the apprentice of Sharingan no Kakashi and Sarutobi Hiruzen since five years ago, and now, I am your new teammate. Hello."

I paused to take a long drag of the cigarette and began feeling that blessed dullness washing over my senses.

"And for five minutes or so, I am fifteen years old," I blew smoke in the window's direction. I wasn't ready to look at the surprise or betrayal I would see on their faces, not yet. "Happy birthday to me."

Hinata was the first to act. She got up, made a beeline around the table and hugged me.

Hell, I liked her for a _damned_ good reason.

Sasuke, of course, couldn't help himself. "ANBU? Jinchūriki? What—Naruto, you better start talking now. I know you had secrets, but this…" he relapsed into silence. I got myself out of Hinata's hug, whispering a thank you for her, then I looked at him.

His eyes were narrowed—I knew that expression. He was already connecting the dots.

He looked right into my eyes. "That's it, isn't that? Since that day. Mother always talked about the heroic ANBU who carried us from the compound and got us to the hospital. She talked about him even if she couldn't tell me who the dude was, right before you entered our lives from the blue," Sasuke said, a smirk appearing on his face. "You."

I returned the look in kind. "Me."

Kakashi passed a thumb over his throat. "Busted."

I laughed, but Sasuke kept on talking. "You better tell me—no, us, everything. But…" he paused, slightly looking away from me. That fucker always had it hard to express anything other than sarcasm. "Thank you. Thank you for saving her."

"No skin off my teeth, I always have been a sucker for damsels in distress—three, if we count you and Tomoe that day," I joked and he rolled his eyes. Hinata, instead, gave me a small smile as she returned to her seat. "But let me begin, so, you all know about—"

"Actually, it's better I take the helm about telling this part of the story," Jiji interrupted. His tone was jovial, but I recognized it for what it was—a way out, so I wouldn't have to tell them about that night.

As I said, the old man knew the score. Good man.

I waved my hand for him to go and took a drink of my cup. It burned in the way down, stronger than sake, stronger than everything I tasted before—but it was good. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at my expression and I gave him the finger.

Nonetheless, time for the Hokage to do the storytelling.

"I will never forget tenth of October. I am old, you all can see that, but that night—I have seen the horrors of more wars and fights I can count on both my hands, but that night will be forever on my mind. Because it was at our doorstep. The battle was fought inside my home—my village. I am talking, of course, about the Kyuubi attack, the night a bright star—" I interrupted him with a glare. "Sorry, Naruto-kun, I am accustomed to telling this story without the classified parts," I nodded and raised my cup to him.

The Hokage answered with a smile. "The night _two_ bright stars shone above all of their peers and, with their efforts and sacrifice, saved us all from certain doom," he stopped to take a breath. Everyone was enraptured by the tale already, he was simply that good. "The first was my predecessor, Minato Namikaze, who died while sealing the beast away."

I could almost see Nat pouting. **"I am kind of insulted already."**

'Shush you, we're getting to the good part.'

The Hokage looked right at me when he said the next bit. "And Uzumaki Kushina, the previous container of the beast, who died to restrain it after giving birth to her only son."

I smiled and closed my eyes. "And a damn tough woman mum was. Isn't that right, Sensei?"

Kakashi smiled—not just an eye smile this time, as I could see his mask stretching around his mouth. "Oh, tough doesn't begin to cover it. I am almost thirty now and I still fear her like nothing else, even while I was on your father's team."

Sasuke and Hinata's eyes widened at that last bit, but the Hokage raised his hand to stop them. "We'll get to that. Back to the tale, that night, the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked the village. You asked about the meaning of jinchūriki, Sasuke-kun, and now I tell you—it is the name we give to the ones who contain the Tailed Beasts inside them," if someone could be shocked to death, I would have seen it happening here and then with these two. "The jinchūriki's seal is weakened when comes the time to give birth, and someone took vantage of it on that night to unleash the Kyuubi."

I gave Sasuke a nod. "An Uchiha someone, to be exact."

"Excuse me?!" he shouted, his composure finally broken. "That—that couldn't be!"

"Oh, how it could. The Yondaime even fought the dude," I said, waving my cigarette around lazily. "And you can calm your tits right now because Natsumi told me how the dude smell and it wasn't an Uchiha that lived here, so—"

"Naruto-kun," the Hokage interrupted me. His voice was calm. Too much calm for the raised eyebrow and the expression he had on his face. My instincts were already screaming _danger._ "Who, exactly, is this Natsumi?"

Well, shit.

I felt all eyes on me and slapped myself right in the face. "Fuck me."

 **"Best. Night. Ever,"** Natsumi shouted and began laughing.

"People you need to trust me," I began talking frantically to defuse the potential situation. "The thing is that the Kyuubi, or how her name actually is, Natsumi, was kind of weakened after the sealing so she wasn't in the right state of mind and then she—"

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata called. "Slow down, we can't understand you. Take a breath."

I stopped myself and looked at them. Right at their expression. Their eyes were narrowed, but there wasn't accusation in them, not even Jiji's, just curiosity. Hinata, though? She still was smiling at me. A show of faith, mind you, a faith I certainly didn't deserve.

"Fuck," I said, again, and rubbed my hand over my face. "Alright. Alright," I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, the game was afoot. "After the man extracted the Kyuubi out of mum, she—the fox, in this case—was disoriented. Vulnerable, even. That dude put a Genjutsu on the fox and told her—take out the village, all of it. She fought it, fought it with even the last bit of her willpower, because if she hadn't… oh boy."

I looked out of the window. "Let's just say there wouldn't be a Konohagakure today. Instead, we would be in The Village Hidden in The Smoking Crater."

Jiji still didn't look like he was sold, nor was Kakashi.

I needed a last push to convince them.

"Look, dudes," I said to them. "I know what you were thinking. That the Kyuubi was certainly lying to me, yadda-yadda, but—hell, I know she wasn't. You all saw the Sharingan symbols in her eyes that night. I know her since I was five years old and she never lied to me or put me against the village. This shit has to count for something, no?"

I paused to took another drag of my cigarette and rubbed the bridge of my nose. "If you don't trust the Kyuubi, please, I am just asking that you trust me one more time."

There was silence, how couldn't it be? Until the Hokage slowly and surely nodded to me in unspoken agreement and Kakashi did too. Sasuke, bit by bit, regained his composure and that fucking mocking smirk again appeared on his face.

"So, you have a fox the size of the Hokage mountain _just_ inside you," he drawled. "The red eyes, these things on your face, your teeth and the weird powers you explained as being your bloodline, yes?" it was my time to smile, oh yeah. "Sure. I always knew you looked a bit constipated all the time, now I know why."

 **"Ha!"** Natsumi exclaimed and laughed again.

"Oh, fuck you," I gave him the middle finger and the Hokage slapped my hand. "Jiji!"

He slapped me again. "I let you sit on my chair, I let you take my table almost by assault, but for the gods above, we will maintain the last shred of decorum this office demands even if I have to give you all a spanking. You aren't too old for me to bend you over my knee, Naruto-kun."

I winced. It was the clue for them—even Natsumi—to laugh at my face.

Even Hinata giggled a bit behind her hand. I gave her a look that all but exclaimed _traitor,_ yet, she didn't care. No, she laughed more, even, then she waited for everyone to stop laughing too and raised her hands.

"We trust you, Naruto-kun," she said. "I trust you. If you say that, I will have faith in your word. After all, your word hadn't failed me yet, ever since I first met you, and I have my belief that it will never do. I trust you."

That heat I felt inside me hadn't anything to do with vodka, this time.

"So there we have it. The fox was controlled that night and she has a name, which is Natsumi by the way, and she is inside me—and she is here to stay. Any questions?" I asked, taking another drag of the cigarette.

"Just one," Kakashi said and came closer to me. "Is she hot?"

I coughed like a motherfucker on the smoke I inhaled and, when I regained my poker face, I pointed a finger at him and narrowed my eyes. "Don't you fucking go there, Kakashi-sensei!"

He backed away and waved his hands lazily. "Maa, just a question. Don't bite my head off."

Sasuke saw fit to intervene, then. "When you were talking about your father… you're the Yondaime's son, isn't it? After all, the tale has it that he killed the fox, yet, here you are."

I scowled. "Sure it is, isn't it? The tale has it he killed the fox. The perfect Yondaime, bright and shiny as he was, single-handedly taking down the most powerful Tailed Beast by himself. Not a mention about my mum, oh no, not even a single one. No one could care less about the last woman from a destroyed clan, yeah?" I took another breath as Sasuke's expression hardened. "Mum was dying. Having something this powerful extracted from you and giving birth literally minutes before is no joke—yet, she remained here. She held on her life. Because she was an Uzumaki through and through, and that's what we Uzumaki do."

I emptied the cup of vodka and looked right into his eyes. "We hold the fucking line."

In the silence that hung over the room, I blew smoke in the air. "Here you have it. The first part, my father, my mother, my secret tenant, the reason I am what I am," I shook my head. "Actually, there's more. I told you I was an ANBU, but I didn't tell you what I did there. What I want is for you to understand, because we will be a team and I need you all to know what you are in for. The price we all will pay while doing this work."

I closed my eyes. "You see, innocence, once lost, can never be regained,"

"Naruto," Kakashi said, his tone serious. "Are you going to tell them about—"

"Yes," I answered and looked at Jiji. "But only if it's alright with you."

The Hokage didn't answer with words. He got up, filled up our cups again, and gave one to Kakashi. He emptied his own in a big gulp and sighed, looking now every year his own age. "You can, Naruto-kun. You can."

I focused on Sasuke and Hinata. Sasuke was still, he knew it was no time for joking, and Hinata held her hands together over her lap. That bit was for them. If we were to be a team, if we were to fight, to bleed and to fucking kill together, they need to know it. They need to know what waits for us out of the village, out of the civilization, on the world of the beasts—the wolves who wear the skin of men and women.

I raised my hand to show them the red braided cord on my wrist. "This is the story of how I had my eyes open for what really happens in this world, and it began and end with this. This little thing on my wrist. It's funny, no? How a little memento like that can be so important?" I closed my eyes. "No. No, it isn't. There's nothing funny here."

When I opened them again, I began telling it. "It all began with a mission I had with Kakashi-sensei out of the village. There was a village on the border of the Land of Fire. Quiet village, generally peaceful—but not that time. There was a gang there and they were doing business in that village. We could say their business _was_ the people of the village, even. And we two were sent to take them down."

I talked.

I remembered.

* * *

"Get up!" the burly man shouted at me and took a step back, that sickening smile still on his lips. I leaned on the column I was chained to, feeling my bruised cheekbone and the cuts inside my mouth already healing, and I spat a tooth out with a wad of blood. "Yer beating ain't finished yet, ye little shit. Get up!"

There were five men in the room, all of them build like wardrobes and ugly as sin. The kind of thugs someone would run like hell for if he saw them in an alley at night. All of them armed, all of them smelling like alcohol and violence and old blood.

I was thirteen years old by then.

The plan was simple but efficient. I was to be bait for the ones guarding the merchandise—and what could be a better bait than someone who could have his spleen ripped out and get up like nothing had happened? I had to focus their ire on me, so Kakashi could take the guards outside the compound, then the boss and his bodyguard—a jounin and a chunin, respectively—silently.

We couldn't risk it them thinking that everything was lost.

Because we weren't the ones who they would take vengeance on if they were cornered. Their business was _people,_ you see. A very specific kind of people. Girls, ranging from age ten to twenty, caught on the streets, on orphanages, everywhere. Girls who hadn't anyone to care about them and who wouldn't be missed by the citizens.

Except that one girl had someone who cared about her. He had the foresight of contacting Konohagakure, and here we were. We, a jounin—a legend, even, and me, his apprentice. A kid. Just a kid. Funny thing was, as Kakashi had experience, he was jaded. In command of his feelings and reactions—perfectly calm. I hadn't any of this on my corner, so I _hated_ them _._

A legend with his sidekick and, between us, I was the one they should be worried about.

It was when I felt the seal on my neck heating. Good. No more beatings. No more baits. Kakashi was on the mission and it was time for me to take them out. I couldn't help myself by then, seeing how the thug before me was looking to me with superiority.

I laughed. I laughed without even a shred of humor on it—it wasn't a funny laugh.

It was the kind of laughter you hear in the battlefields just before a madman comes over you and take you head off your shoulders.

"Gods, you all are so fucking pathetic," I said and shook my head. "Pathetic, pathetic, Pathetic inbred shitty motherfuckers and mongrels. You here, you punch like a lady," my muscles bulged under my ripped shirt and, just like that, the chain around my wrists was snapped in little broken links as I opened my arms. "Yes, you do. But you would know all about how a lady punches, wouldn't you? After all, it's just the beginning of your fun. When they resist. When they make a stand. When they say no."

He took another step back and I smiled. I didn't need to see myself to see how I was looking—the red of my eyes shining like spotlights even under the skin of my face and showing black veins. Like my skin was shattered. My fangs clearly visible under that sterile light. I didn't need to see because I could smell their fear. It wasn't enough, though.

Yet, it was a beginning.

"You thought you really could capture a ninja? A shinobi? A trained killer? You bunch of fucking morons?" I laughed again. "You are good to take little girls from their families and all, but someone who can fight back?"

I took a step forward. He took a step back. The other ones raised themselves from their sofas and chairs.

"Ya stop right here!" the man closer to me shouted, red in the face and sweating. "Ya stop right here or I swear to god we will kill ye," I didn't stop. He turned his head to the side. "That's it! Boys! Give him hell!"

Silly, silly morons, they couldn't give me hell. Hell wasn't theirs to give.

I burst into action. A kunai made of Adamantine materialized in my hand and I closed the space between me and the closest man in a blur, then shoved the point of the blade right into his belly. Three inches down the solar plexus. Rupturing his intestines and everything around it.

I wouldn't give him a painless death. Blood squirted from his belly as I began moving the kunai, I felt it on my skin and smelled it. Something heavy—and squishy—hit the floor and more blood came out.

The shock had already passed by then and he finally began screaming.

"One. Down," I whispered in his ear as I hoisted him up in the air and swung the blade _inside_ him, tearing more and more of his flesh and organs apart. He was bigger than me, he was heavier than me, but it didn't matter. I was stronger than him, and I always would be.

His mates were closing the distance, so I threw him against the one nearer to us. It gave me time to pick up a chair and, with a pivot, pick momentum enough to smash the thing against the head of a second man. Corner first. Against a wall.

Funny thing is, when someone strong enough swings a fucking heavy and old chair against your head, it isn't the chair that breaks. It's the bone and flesh—the insides of his cranium were sprayed on the wall like a sick painting. Grey and red and white pieces of him just splashed there and he was dead before he could make a sound.

Oh, and the chair broke too.

They were wising up, these three others, as they took some steps back and regrouped. They picked their knives and bats and whatever they had—what the hell, one of them had a fucking meat cleaver on his hand now. But it would do little favor for them because they forgot the rule one.

When your opponent is faster than you, you can't stop or hesitate.

I appeared in front of these three faster than they could react. I stomped the fatter one in the kneecap—I heard it breaking right here—then spun and used my other foot to kick the other closest fucker the hell away. He slammed on the wall, falling in a boneless heap.

I turned back in a blur and elbowed the one with the broken leg in the face, crushing his nose and putting him on the ground—still holding his face and gurgling in his own blood. The thug still standing, though? He tried to use the opportunity to stab me in the back.

I could smell him moving, I felt the air being displaced by his movement and heard it. I even felt the heat coming from his body.

I turned to him and caught his wrist. He tried to move the knife, but my grip held true and it didn't budge, so he took the other way out and tried to punch me with his other hand. I blocked it with my forearm and, without finesse—only brute force—caught the elbow of his knife arm with my free hand, pushing the joint to the wrong side and using the momentum to twist his wrist. He stabbed himself in the belly and blood squirted on my face.

I wasn't finished with him, though.

I took the knife from his guts, tearing a gash here, and stabbed it right into his neck. His eyes widened and I stared him right back, moving the knife ever so slowly, carving a red smile on his throat as more blood painted my face. He kneeled down, gripping my shoulder for support and scratching my face, but the knife was still moving. The blood was still flowing, and the light in his eyes was dying more and more by the second.

When he stopped spasming, I twisted the knife and shoved him away from me.

It was when I heard someone laughing and stood still until I found it was me.

The dude who had been slammed on the wall still wasn't moving, but the fellow with the broken leg was crawling away from me. It wouldn't do. I walked to him and put a knee on his back, then picked him by the ears. He probably was pleading something to me, but I couldn't understand.

Hard to talk with a fucked up nose.

I pushed his head back and slammed it on the ground, face first. I didn't put all my strength on it, oh no—I wanted him to feel. Then I did it again. Again. The red splatter under his head becoming bigger and bigger with each time. More bones breaking. Again.

Then I felt a need to look him in the face.

I held his head and began _turning_ it. Slowly. I heard his vertebrae groaning with the abuse before they began creaking, then breaking. With each inch, his neck was closer and closer to giving up, but I keep doing it until, with a last sound of crushed bone and ruptured flesh, he was looking in my direction.

While I still had my knee firmly pressed on his back.

I crushed his head between my hands, gray matter, vitreous fluid and blood sliding between my fingers as his cranium was reduced to a pulp—more than it already had been.

I was ready to kill the last one as I got up from that corpse, but then I heard a faint noise—a noise coming from the other door of the room. I had a sense of foreboding here and there but forced myself to walk and open the door. Then the smell hit me.

Blood, feces, urine, and other excretions. Scent of people, too. I took a long look at the secrets that door held behind, and then I feel it. I thought I hated them before that, but that hate was only an ember, a spark, even, compared to what I saw made me feel.

I, foolishly, thought I knew what rage was before that. They proved me wrong.

Took my time to close the door and then my eyes.

I tried to count from one to ten to calm myself—just for me to give up in the five and open my eyes again. Feel that fire inside me again. All in all, after that, I knew only one thing, only one truth. A truth now set in stone.

More people were going to die tonight.

Slowly, I turned back to the one I sent against the wall with a kick. He had his eyes open and more bones broken in his body than I could count—I didn't care. I inched closer to him, step by step, my hand held up by my side. The hand holding a little sun over the palm, the fire raging while contained by my will, yearning to burn something.

That motherfucker would scream his throat raw before I let him die.

* * *

I shook my head and looked back to them. Ranging from horror and sickness to a cold fury in the Hokage and Kakashi's expressions, they felt it all. Sasuke and Hinata had it worse, though. When I began this story I knew they would see me in other light. They knew the goofy Naruto, even knew how I was when I became serious. They hadn't known the monster, the bloodlust I had inside me.

Now all of it was brought to light. It wasn't nice, it wasn't cute, but it was me. Raw, unfiltered, truly me and who I am. We all wear our little masks day to day, joking and talking shit to each other, but when push comes to shove—we're assassins. We're shinobi. And I am damned good at what I do.

And god, I liked it. I still like doing it.

"I took my time with him," I said, somberly, as my fingernails scratched the wood of the table as I balled my hands into fists. "I made him feel a bit of what these girls behind the door felt. I didn't think. I should have finished him fast and helped these girls, but I was _angry—_ no, that isn't the right word. I was fucking _outraged._ I didn't think, and to this day, it will be my blame to carry until I die."

 _If I can die, that is—_ were the unspoken words.

I tried to drink a bit of my vodka just to find the cup empty. Without a word, Jiji gave me the bottle and I downed a hearty gulp, just to give myself time to collect my thoughts again. I wasn't finished, not by a long way.

"After I killed him, I liberated these girls from their chains and the ones who could still walk, I let do it. Sent my clones with them. One of them couldn't, it was their _plaything,_ you know, so I carried her—but there were more, I found the ones Kakashi didn't and let them go. Still carrying that girl. She couldn't be more than thirteen, no older than myself. So I got out of that fucking hell on Earth to see Kakashi again."

I still hadn't had my eyes opened by then, but they would be. How they would be.

I looked back at the braid on my wrist.

Then I lost myself in my memories again.

* * *

"I sent a bunch of clones with the girls to guide them to the village—it isn't that far, just a bit, but the clones will assist everyone who needs," I said, walking down the porch of the compound in the direction of my sensei and shaking my head. "Fucking god, Kakashi."

Kakashi looked at me from the bunch of documents he was perusing. "Same."

"You got the dough?" I asked, inclining my head in the direction of the papers.

"Yeah, this was just an outpost for them, they come from the other side of the Land of Fire. This was made for… let's say, round the _merchandise,"_ he spat the last word, "until they can send them from the border to pick a boat to the Land of the Waves."

I scowled and looked back to the hideout. I spat on the ground and focused on the girl in my arms—she was very cold, so I diverted a bit of my chakra to heat myself and her. Nobody should stay cold like that. Nobody.

"And who is this little one?" Kakashi asked with the kindest voice I ever heard from him. He walked in my direction and brushed a bit of hair from her face, looking at her. "She didn't wake up?"

"Yeah, she didn't, didn't drink the water I offered too, so I carried her," I said and looked down at the girl. She was a frail thing, each inch of her pale skin covered in bruises—old and new, and she was _thin_. She couldn't be more than thirteen, with hair black as the night. She looked very cute, the kind of girl you want to hug and don't let her go. The kind of girl you would want to protect. "Goddamnit."

We were on high alert when I heard a faint wheezing noise before I saw it was coming from the girl. Her eyes were opening slowly, and she was shivering. Shivering. Almost like she was afraid to see what waited for her when she opened her eyes. It was an awful sight to behold, her suffering and sadness bared like that for everyone to see.

Her voice was nothing but shaky coming from these cracked lips—here and there, if I still had a piece, even a shred, of my soul that didn't hate the bandits with a burning inferno, it died when she began speaking.

"T-the monsters..." she whispered, trembling all the while.

"Yes, sweetheart?" my voice was uncharacteristically soft and delicate, almost as she was. I tightened my embrace slightly and increased the amount of burning chakra I was molding inside myself to give her some more heat. More comfort. "You can talk now, I am here."

She was so cold. No one should be that cold.

Most of all, I just wanted to hold her and put her back together.

To make her world right again.

"T-they... are they gone...?"

She broke my heart with these words. The girl was saying these words like her hope was a mere illusion, an impossibility. A pipe dream of an addled mind. Like she had already given up and her spirit couldn't even register that the nightmare was over now.

"Yes, yes. I promise they are all gone and they can't hurt you anymore. Never, never, they will never hurt you again. Now, now, you," I heard my own voice cracking, "you can relax and sleep," I gave her a shaky smile she probably couldn't see. "I am going to take you to a doctor and all will be fine. Just be here with me. Be—please, just hang on to us. We're the good guys. Everything will be fine. Just be with us" I whispered to her, desperately trying to convince her and maybe even myself of the truth on my words.

My heart broke for the second time with what came next.

"I-I w-want to give you… something," she held a shaky hand to her hair. I helped her as I could and he took it off, it was a red braided cord—made in a traditional style, uncommon even. She put it in my hand, his touch to feeble to hold it. Too weak. "I-I… thank you."

Her voice was dropping in volume and even I had to come closer to hear her—at least it's what I told myself. All in all, I think I just didn't want her to see how I was. Something hot was streaking down my face and I caught her next words that were almost inaudible.

But I heard it. I heard it, and would never forget it. My mistake. My blame.

"R-remember me… my hero," she said, then she slowly closed her eyes and drifted into a peaceful sleep with a small smile stretching her battered lips. She looked nice smiling. She should smile more—she should have had more opportunities to smile.

The red braid was still in firmly held in my hand.

Kakashi's face didn't change even a bit during our little talk, the only thing fully alive in his countenance being the fury in his eyes. Not for the first time, I cursed the monsters who did it to this girl, I cursed them to suffer the worst torture possible in hell. I cursed them with all the spite, the anger, and hate I had on me.

Trembling, I looked up to my sensei, fighting the treacherous stinging sensation in my eyes with all of my might. It wouldn't do to let my tears fall and make her wet. She was very cold already.

Kakashi deflated of his anger and sighed. He came closer and put an arm around my shaking shoulders while I walked away from that place, then gave the girl a bit of water of his canteen a delicate as he could. I walked away from that hell. I walked away and never looked back.

I think that sometimes was easy for Kakashi to forget that I was just a thirteen years old boy who still dared to have hope. It was very easy, even to myself, to forget this sometimes. It should be even easier for him. Maybe.

"Naruto, wait for a moment," he said, his grip tightening around me. "That what happened, it's your most important lesson. The fundamental one. Naruto, I want you to look at her… to look at her and to burn the smile she gave you in your mind forever," he looked up to the sky and closed his eyes as I wiped the bit of water that came out of her lips. "Remember the gratitude of her words like the precious prize they are, as god knows we rarely have any of that."

He looked at the horizon with a faraway expression and did something I never dreamed to see. Kakashi took out his half-mask.

The face under it was handsome, remembering me of a picture I saw of his father once before. I couldn't think of a reason for him to use the mask. Maybe it was because of the big scar around his Sharingan eye, maybe not. Maybe it was just another memory for a man that already had too many of them.

My sensei gave me a sad smile. "You need to keep the memory of this feeling, this... this will of fire. You take it and keep it alive. With it burning in your heart, you can stand tall against anything," Kakashi smiled. "Moments like that... they're fleeting, Naruto," still with that nostalgic look in his eyes, he rubbed his hand over his face. "My own sensei said something about it to me. He said that these moments, these lives, are but little sparks in the darkness of this world. They burn brightly, shining like a sun for barely a second before they disappear forever. Out to never be seen again."

Kakashi gave a bitter laugh. "It's ironic, too, because they called him Yellow Flash."

I stammered, searching for words and finding none. "I would've liked to know him."

"Yeah, you would," he said and gave me a strange look, still smiling. "I tell you, I am certain that he would have liked to know you, too."

His eyes swayed again to the girl and his hands began shaking. I didn't know if it was from sorrow or fury, or maybe it was from remembering his own past. Hell, I didn't even know why my own were doing the same thing.

"But you know what?" he said, tucking some strands of her matted hair behind her ear. "They can make everything worth it. People like her, and only people like her. They alone can make all the blood in our hands worth it, even if just to see a flash of someone smiling like that again," he whispered, finally putting his mask back, then gave me an eye smile and messed my hair. "All we can do is protect these little sparks, so they can shine in their own way while they are still burning. That's the lesson I have to you."

A gasp of air from her brought me down to the reality. Refusing to hear more, refusing to don't act more, I shrugged his hand off my shoulder and didn't say anything to him. I just ran, my steps speeding in the direction of the village to search for a medic, faster than I ever did before. Even the denizens of hell would have to drag me screaming and kicking before I let that girl suffer anything more.

I ran, and ran, and ran some more. I ran, desperately in need of a fucking doctor, healer, shaman—anyone, anywhere. The daylight had already faded when I began. I needed someone to help her more than I ever needed someone before for anything. I just needed someone to—

I felt it. I couldn't have mistaken it, but I wanted to. I think I already knew, and Kakashi too.

How could I, as I heard it so many times?

I stopped my maniac dash and fell to my knees, still holding her, shaking and looking at her with wide eyes. The Tailed Beast inside me was the only witness of the tears that began falling down from my eyes. Tears that felt hotter than the sun and I couldn't hold inside myself anymore.

Natsumi didn't say anything, for there was nothing in need to be said. She just made her presence known to me—known that she was still caring for me. A warm sensation coming from her own energy spreading through my body and heart. Spreading and spreading, but not quite enough. It wasn't nearly enough.

It couldn't ward away the coldness of the dead body I now held in my arms.

Clutching the frail and still girl closer to my chest, I screamed. I screamed at the heavens above. Fury, anger, despair, all these feelings, I let it all out and screamed until my throat felt raw and the stars began to appear in the night sky. I screamed until I couldn't do it anymore.

I just wept then.

Maybe my tears were hot enough to warm her. Nobody should be so cold.

Nobody.

* * *

"Her name was Kasumi. She was abducted from an orphanage at the age of twelve and was held by them for more time than the others. Much, much more time. They saw her like their _toy,_ you understand" I said, unwilling to look at them, but raised my wrist with her braided cord. "If I was quicker, if I didn't let my emotions tell me what to do, maybe I could have saved her. Truth is, I failed—I wasn't worthy of being called a hero. I wasn't worthy of her smile. Of her gratitude."

I rubbed the back of my hand over my eyes and looked up to them, the empty bottle clicking on the table as my fingers brought another cigarette to my lips. Hinata had her hands over her mouth, eyes wide, and Sasuke was just still. Like a statue. Pale, with his black eyes almost burning. Jiji and Kakashi looked a mix of saddened and angry.

I tried to smile. It didn't work, so I light up the cigarette with a snap of my fingers. "But I did what I could. I remembered her, I still remember her, and something like that will never happen on my watch again. Not while I'm still alive."

I paused a bit to blow some smoke. Then looked at Jiji again and pointed to the bottle.

"Any more?" I asked. Weird, I didn't see when he had picked another—but he passed the half-full bottle to me, I gave him a little thankful nod for it and drunk a bit more.

"Taking lives is easy. Too easy, sometimes," I finally managed to smile— a tiny, self-deprecating thing. "Even better when done in large numbers. You don't have time to see the life going out in their eyes or to dwell on it, you go and fight, cut them down and then chop-chop, just statistics. They're no more and will never be again."

There was silence after that—my smile turned into a grimace and I rubbed the bridge of my nose. The vodka wasn't working. I still felt it raw inside me, like that day, and I didn't want to feel anymore.

 _Remember me._

But I would.

"Seeing someone die as you can't do squat to change it, however, is not easy," I said. "Oh no, Dragon—the ANBU commander—had it right in his first assessment of my capabilities. I am quite useless outside the combat. I can't deceive with Genjutsu or heal outside of what an ordinary field medic can with their hands and no chakra. So I decided to be the best in doing in what I _can_ do."

Sasuke clenched his jaw, his voice coming low. "When you were telling us about that girl, you were looking at me—that's about Tomoe, isn't it? All of this story about the girl and failure and regret, you're trying to say something."

"You are damn right I am trying to say something," my voice became higher with each syllable and I couldn't control it before I was shouting. "Every time I see little Tomoe, god bless her tiny cotton socks, I remember that girl and how I was shit damn _useless_ there, Sasuke! I remember her and I remember my fucking failure!"

The bottle in my hand broke under my grip. The pieces of glass cut into my flesh, making the blood flow and stain the desk of the Hokage with red. Sasuke jerked back at the sudden movement, but Hinata let out a strangled gasp and was the first to act—springing in my direction and holding my hand open unto hers.

I was still looking to Sasuke. "I remember how the hell—"

"Be quiet!" Hinata abruptly said, still forcing my hand open and picking shard by shard of glass off my skin with her Byakugan activated. "You will not talk about yourself being useless again in my presence, Naruto-kun! Never again."

I was dumbfounded, for the second time that day, at her sheer vehemence. Her faith in me. She probably was too numb, too lost in the heat of the moment to care about the presence of the Hokage, Kakashi, and Sasuke in the room. Perhaps she just didn't really give a flying fuck anymore about decorum and her shyness.

"Hinata-chan, I—"

She didn't let me finish, though. "I said, be quiet. You can't talk about useless when I am here! I am the one who you gave strength to come out of the shell and stand for what I believe. The one who shares your nindo—you never go back on your promises! So I am—and you better wipe the blood out of the Hokage-sama's table now!" Hinata shouted, pushing the last piece of glass from my hand and turning away to throw it out of the window.

Even Jiji was silenced by the outburst. Sasuke, instead, was looking at her with an open mouth and Kakashi had his eyes wide, paying his full attention to the happenings with shock written all over I could see of his face.

I could only nod dumbly.

She spun to face me again, hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed. "I am the only one here who could be truly called useless! You will tell the rest of the story, but god help me, if you call yourself useless again, I will slap you silly until even a medic-nin of the likes of Tsunade-sama would have a hard time putting you together again!"

For some seconds, the only sound in the room was I trying to wipe the table with the hem of my shirt. Hinata strode imperiously to her chair, glaring at me all the while—at least until she had time to calm and look around.

Looking at her audience, she blushed, made an _eep_ and burrowed deeply in the chair she was sitting, hiding her face in her hands with a speed I didn't know she possessed before.

 **"I have said this before and I will say again,"** Natsumi said. **"I really, really like her."**

"I should tell the rest of the story now," Kakashi said, walking to me and putting a hand on my shoulder. "I knew Naruto was pissed when I caught him, still holding the girl. He put her on my arms with the braid and said, _take care of her and give me the fucking files because I am going every one of these bastards._ I shouldn't have done it, but I did. He read them, picked the localization of the real base of operations—and then he went hunting."

He gave me a look. "Now, what he doesn't know is that I had a Shadow Clone tailing him the entire time. I watched my student tearing his way through their little outposts one by one, running like the devil himself until he caught sight of the main base. Sasuke," he suddenly asked, turning to the Uchiha. "What Naruto do when he is fighting?"

"He smiles," Sasuke answered without needing to think. "He is always smiling, but—"

"Oh, he wasn't smiling by then," Kakashi said, looking back to me with a glare. "He wasn't smiling, he wasn't screaming, he wasn't even making a fucking sound. I saw how angry he was just by looking at his eyes. They were worse than they are now."

I looked at my reflection in the window and saw it. Red eyes shining like lamps, no pupil visible, the skin around then shining with an internal light—little black veins looking like my skin cracking open all around then.

"Just like that," Kakashi said and patted me on the back. "If not worse."

I took a deep breath to calm myself, but until I finished this story, it would be for nothing. Instead, I looked at them—all of them. Jiji had his eyes pressed together, every crease on his face highlighted by the expression. He looked old. Hinata had tears in her eyes.

Sasuke simply had understanding on his own. Sometimes, that's enough. Sometimes, it's not.

But he would have my gratitude for that, nonetheless.

"I found them," I discovered my voice again. "I found all of them and made them pay. Pay for that little girl. Kasumi. I came unto their base and torn it apart, no weapons, no tactics, I went inside by the front door and everyone that came before me—everyone that I saw, I killed. I ripped them apart like the little shits they were."

I scoffed, resting my forehead on my hand for a moment.

"Funny how it goes. The day I learned that I needed to control my emotions, I did that. That, of course, meaning that I killed two hundred and sixty-seven men—I counted. I wanted all of them purged. More than two hundred lives finished by my hands in the space of time of one night," I said, raising my head again to see them and clutching my fist before my eyes. "After what I did my damned best to wipe them all from the fucking face of the planet."

Kakashi let my shoulder go and began walking back to his spot but turned back to say his parting line. "Another thing, do you know about the village of Aogashima? The base was some miles from there. After Naruto did what he had set himself to do here, Aogashima became a big tourist spot," he looked to me. "The village next to the meteor crater, they say, they think that something came from the sky, exploded there and opened a crater miles wide. They think it's a meteor."

I felt the weight of all their stared at me again and Kakashi scoffed. "But we know better."

I took another swing of the vodka. "I am saying all that to you because you need to know me. You are my teammates now, or you will be, and you need to know exactly who you are fighting together with. I am not a good man," I laughed. "Hell, I am not even close. I did things, some good, some bad, and they all taught me something."

I looked up to the ceiling, blowing smoke to all the high heavens.

"It taught me that people who aren't quite strong, who don't have the real strength—which, by the way, is the resolve of mind. Willpower. Resolve is the way to weed the good from the bad. These people who don't have it but have a smidge of power? They go around thinking— _man, I want to feel like I can see farther than a fucking hawk, like I am more connected to god than a fucking monk, like I can run faster than anything and am stronger than a raging bear, what to do? I know, I will just fuck with everyone who happens to be weaker than me_."

I snarled. "These people are vermin! Don't misunderstand me, I love to fight. I love to fight almost more than I love ramen. But I want to fight with people who are as strong or stronger than me. I want to put a fucking effort, to feel something," I said, thumping my chest and scrunching my eyes together. "The strong shouldn't pick in the weak without reason. This ain't right. How will they grow if the ones stronger than they are going around doing these things to people for no reason? It ain't right. I will not play by these rules."

I was breathing heavily now. I put the vodka on the table and opened my eyes.

That was a long fucking way coming.

I paused to look at each of the people here. Hinata, the ever beautiful Hinata, Sasuke, who I could feel hating these guys almost as much as me, Jiji, who simply showed sadness. Kakashi, my brother in all but blood, who just was there for me. In the good, the bad, and the ugly, he was there.

"We will be Team Seven. We will train together. We will bleed together. We will fight like like our fucking lives are depending on this, and we will do it again and again," I said, looking down and shaking my head. "We will do all of that because, I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of how the world goes and I refuse to lose to it ever again. I refuse to let the world bend me again. I will take the whole world head-on if I need to if it means I will not fail someone again. I will stand tall and say, enough is fucking enough, and whoever wants to fuck with me or mine, I will pulverize into dust and throw it in the face of any bastard crazy enough to try again."

I got to my feet and slammed my hand on the table. "So, this is the deadline. The moment of truth. I ask you, now. After I said all that shit, after you know me and know how the things work outta here, I ask you—are you with me?"

A second ticked by, then more and more. No one reacted. At least not until Hinata got to her feet, walked in my direction and slapped me lightly on the head. "I told you to not put more blood on the Hokage's desk."

Then she put her hand over mine and smiled.

"You was there for when I needed, Naruto-kun. For me, that's more than enough."

Sasuke came next. He walked slowly, the bastard, looking at me the entire time. Then he smiled and put his hand over mine too. "You are completely fucking crazy and I think that now I know exactly why," he said and rolled his eyes. "Oh hell, you're my sister's godfather. It wouldn't do for her to grow up with your bad influence—and I owe too much to you to let you go and kill yourself. At least, not alone."

I felt another hand here, more calloused, without his customary glove. I looked up to see Kakashi eyeing me with that lazy stare of his. I raised my eyebrows. He raised one of his. Mental conversation, you know.

"Your mom would kill me if I let you die before I croak," he said, then shrugged. "She doesn't know you are a borderline suicidal little brat and would put the blame on me anyway. That woman is _scary,_ people. I am in."

 **"Consider my metaphorical hand here too,"** Nat called. **"Together to the end, Naruto."**

The moment hung in the air. It wasn't an ordinary thing with empty words and even emptier promises. It was the first moment, the first single second, I felt like being in a team. Like belonging. Like we could depend on one another.

And I tell you right now, it felt fucking good.

Then Jiji began clapping and broke the magic. We looked at each other and got back to our chairs. I couldn't stop smiling—I didn't want to stop smiling. I let another cigarette hung from my lips and set it alight with a snap of my fingers.

The Hokage looked at all of us, proudly, and got up. My time manning his desk was at an end, it seemed—thank the gods too because I was becoming too comfortable here. Heavens forbid I decide to be Hokage someday. He sat there, then looked at all of us—on our feet, before him. His smile was the most sincere I ever saw on his face.

"You came here as separated people, but you will exit this room as a team. As Team Seven, my old team, and you exit here knowing you all made an old man proud today," he said, still smiling. "You found something here, right at his old office, that you will carry to your lives. You found your biggest ally, the one who will carry you once everything seems to be lost. Your most powerful weapon."

"Shit, are you hiding a resurrected Hashirama Senju under that table, old man?" I couldn't help but joke. Sasuke muffled a laugh with his fist, trying to maintain his composure, and Hinata looked at me with shock as Kakashi gave me a swat on the top of my head. The Hokage just rolled his eyes.

"Language. And no, Naruto-kun—Hashirama-sensei are, sadly, still departed from the living world. What I am talking about is you Will of Fire. You found it here, with your comrades," Jiji leaned over his desk with his body and touched a finger to my chest, over my heart. "And you feel it there. You will carry it, and it makes me truly glad, because after my own flame is snuffed out—there will always be you four here. And I would go on my next adventure happy, knowing that the Will of Fire still burns brightly."

I snaked an arm around Sasuke and Hinata's shoulders and smiled at him.

Damned old man, how could I do anything to disappoint him?

The Hokage interlaced his fingers under his chin. "Now, Hinata-san, it's time for you to go—god only knows what Hiashi-sama will think about your lateness. Or, better yet, ANBU!" he shouted and someone appeared crouched at his side. Squirrel mask? I knew her! "Squirrel, go with Hinata-sama to the Hyuuga Compound and tell Hiashi-sama that she was in official business with the Hokage and it's classified to hell and back—make this information crystal clear because that man likes to meddle way too much."

The ANBU acquiesced and got up. I got my arm off from Sasuke and Hinata's shoulder—not before I gave the girl a reassuring kiss on the top of her head—which made her blush an atomic beet red, mind you—and waved to the masked ninja.

"Yo, Squirrel!" I called. "Take care of her, yeah?"

"Sure," the ANBU answered and picked Hinata's hand. Though, before she could go off in a Shunshin, I heard her clearly whispering under her breath. "Little shit will rob me blind and deaf on the poker's night anyway, got the devil's luck going for him or something like that. You are on a wild ride with that one, Hyuuga-sama, hop on."

"The fox's luck, please!" I called back, but they were already gone. I sighed and looked around the office for the last time that night. "Well shit, I need a drink. Or two. Maybe three. Well, a whole bunch anyway. Are you up to the Crooked Kunai, Jiji, Sasuke? I know you will go anyway, sensei, so shut the fuck up."

Jij got up from his chair and walked around his desk. "The Sandaime Hokage, Naruto-kun, has to maintain a proper image, it wouldn't do for him to be seen at places like the Crooked Kunai," I was near to protesting until he raised a hand, put his hat on his desk and took out his pipe. "Thankfully, Sarutobi Hiruzen has no such needs. Happy birthday, son."

I cheered, but remembered something and turned to Sasuke.

"Mom knows I am with you," he said before I could ask, shrugging. "Has that crazy idea in her head that if I am out in the night with someone who has a giant fox on his belly, I am safe and good to go. You're paying, though, I _know_ you have money now."

No free meals for the damned anymore, then. Well, it didn't matter. We walked through the door and Jiji turned the lights off, finally going away from the place where I went through all these fucking emotions in the span of a night, even without taking what happened before that into account. Happy birthday to me, indeed.

"You know something?" I turned back to Jiji while he was turning the lights off. "I still would like a resurrected Hashirama Senju with us, mind you," I said, then laughed and went after Sasuke and Kakashi. I could even hear the old man's hand slapping his own forehead and his mutterings about brats and young whippersnappers thinking they know everything.

Just old people being strange and all.

I took out another cigarette from my pocket—the last one I had—then set it alight. I paused to take a long drag of smoke and exhaled it from my nose. Oh yeah, I would have liked to have a brand new Hashirama hidden somewhere now.

 **"Sure you would,"** Nat said while I was walking behind Sasuke and Kakashi, the both of them apparently well on their way of becoming fast friends—probably bonding over the pastime of talking shit about me, as my luck goes. Then I looked back just to see Jiji locking the door of his office. **"But what we have here—this isn't too bad at all, isn't it?"**

I looked at the old man with a raised eyebrow, then laughed at his grumpy expression as he walked right past me without giving a second look, the plume of smoke coming from his pipe following like a trail behind him.

The red braid was still on my wrist, but it seemed lighter now. I smiled again.

Yeah.

Not too bad at all.

* * *

 **Route of Collision  
** A Tale of Vengeance and Closure

There were bodies all around me. Whole, in pieces, ripped apart, all of them strewn on the floor. Like the trash they were. Their blood painted my whole body red, with pieces of them scattered here and there all over me. It didn't matter, though. All of them were dead.

And dead men tell no tales.

"It's really funny, Nat," I said with a humorless smile. "In the night I feel the most human of my life—in this night, I just did become a real monster. Funny, no? That girl, with her plea for me to remember her—her death. She made me feel human. I will remember her forever, you know, and I will never fail like this again. Never."

Pebbles began levitating all around me and the wind picked speed. The blood pooling in my hands and around feet boiled and evaporated while the stone ground began cracking—the bodies already sizzling from the heat I was liberating.

 _It doesn't matter. All of them are dead._

"She really touched my heart with her words, that little one," I whispered through gritted teeth, "and you know what I discovered when she died, Nat? You know? I discovered that my heart is full of _rage._ "

Fire exploded from me in a maelstrom, tearing through the roof in a column of heat many times wider than my body. I couldn't care less. I walked, each step I took melting the ground—the ground and the flesh of those I stepped on, the blood and everything around me. I looked around—I looked back to the bodies, to these _dogs,_ these _vermin,_ death by my feet, and curled my upper lip.

 _It doesn't matter. All of them are dead._

"But you lot?" I _felt_ my canines growing bigger than they already were in my natural state. "All of you will be forgotten, no one will remember you, no one will remember what you did. You lot, the time you spent in the world… it will not be even a footnote in history."

The energy welled inside me—raw power howling, yearning to be free for the first time in my life. You see, I never had really let myself cut loose before—even in my worst fights I still controlled myself. Somehow. Because people have the tendency of forgetting that I am _fire_ incarnated.

And fire—fire devours _everything_.

"Begone," I whispered.

Then I let it out. I let it all out and the world was consumed in white.

A second sun was set alight with the rumble of a thunder.

* * *

"I am sorry. I am sorry. I am so sorry," I held her hand—her cold, cold hand—in my forehead as I kneeled before her. She was lying on an altar made of pieces of wood, gathered by Kakashi. "I am so sorry. I should have been better for you. I shouldn't have let you die. I shouldn't have failed you."

I picked the red-braided cord I gave Kakashi before I went into my hunt and held it in my hand. Kakashi was giving us privacy, something I was glad for. I crossed the hand I was holding over her frail chest and took a step back, my eyes red—this time, not just the pupil.

Red from crying too fucking much.

"You wouldn't care for that, not now at least, but I took them down. Every single one of them, I took them down tonight. You wouldn't like it, I think, you seem to be the type of person who doesn't go for revenge," I whispered. "But I took them down. That's the only utility of people like me, huh? Taking revenge. Killing things. We don't set the world right again—we just think we can stop it from becoming more wrong."

I looked up to the stars, tears still streaking down my face. "I am so fucking sorry."

Then I looked back at her and snapped my fingers together. A flame appeared under all that wood, more powerful than any natural flame. She would be just ashes in no time at all, and that was all I could do for her. I couldn't bring her back. I couldn't save her.

But I could stop her from being cold ever again.

"I will remember you," I whispered and tied the cord around my wrist.

 _It doesn't matter. All of them are dead,_ my treacherous mind repeated.

 _Even her,_ I added. Even her.

For me, though, she mattered. She did. As long as I thought of her, she would matter. The world would turn, everything would change, but while I still thought about her—she would matter to me.

"Goodbye," I said, turning back and letting her go.

 _Remember me._

Because, sometimes, remembering them is the only thing you can do.

* * *

If you liked it, or just want to say something about the chapter, please **review**! Thank you.


	6. Chapter 6 — Heart of Madness

**Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue; I do not own, so please don't sue.**

* * *

 **Chapter Six  
** **Heart of Madness**

"My head is killing me," Sasuke said and stopped to rub his eyes. We were on our way to the Academy to finally get our team assignments—and thank god that was finished and done with. "I have a headache, I am dirty, I stink and I think that last dose actually killed my chances of awakening the Sharingan."

I lightly shoved him with my shoulder and laughed. "Lightweight."

I, Kakashi and Sasuke had been on the Crooked Kunai until it closed. The Hokage had responsibilities and needed to call it quits early, but we weren't even genin yet for fuck's sake—except Kakashi, but he couldn't give less of a shit about that too.

After that, I let Sasuke crash on my couch because he was looking like death warmed him over and sent a Shadow Clone to his mother to tell the lady about him staying with me, without mentioning that I got him drunk as a cheap whore, of course.

Mission accomplished, I went to sleep.

Though I still had the suspicion that Mikoto knew all too well about what we were up to and only let us off the hook when I said some words about my birthday, the team, and the talk we had. She had rolled her eyes and said, _Sasuke will be his own damn punishment for doing that anyway._

How right she was.

Simply put, Sasuke was looking like shit. I could hear the hearts of every girl on the class breaking in despair, already.

"Oh, do shut up, you cheat with your healing thing," he said. "I am still having some flashes of that night, so I will ask you right and straight now—did you, perchance, began a _riot_ on that place tonight?" Sasuke raised his hand to my eye level. "Because I have fucking _bite marks,_ Uzumaki, and the distinct memory of you powerbombing someone _through a fucking table_!"

Wait, what? Did I really?

"Hell are you talking about, you wanker? _Oh_. Oh. That," I said, connecting the dots and lazily stretching my arms over my head. "Boy, ain't had no riot there. These shits we kicked the teeth in were the relief squad—you know how it goes."

"Matter of factly, I don't. Relief. Squad," Sasuke repeated, stressing each word. "Explain."

"Sure. Way I heard it, there is that dude who built the Crooked Kunai, right? He is an ex-shinobi and a nice fella, the strong and silent type. So, he was making the bar and stopped to think— _this is a bar for shinobi, so should I ban civilians from entering_?" I snickered. "It's when he has a brainwave, do you know what do you need in a ninja bar? People for these ninjas to punch. So, he opens the bar for everyone and says, _let the gods sort 'em out_."

Sasuke didn't answer. He just stood right there, looking at me with the strangest expression on his face like he was weighing if I had been bullshitting him with the whole story or something like that. I wasn't. Konoha always had been just crazy enough for things like that happen.

I couldn't hold it anymore and my snickers dissolved in full-blown laughter. "Bloody hell man, let's think about it like a civvie. Only the craziest civvies or morons with something to prove would willingly hang out with us."

Sasuke looked at me almost for a full minute in silence, then he shook his head and leaned on a tree. I let him call the tune of our talk and crouched to pet a little dog who was running around us, the cutest little thing.

"I can't believe it—no, that's a lie, I can, but I really don't want to. Relief squad. Relief fucking squad, " he said, putting his head in his hands and sighing aloud. "You shinobi are the strangest people in all the whole world."

"We, Sasuke," I gave him a big shit-eating grin. "Not _you_ , _we_ shinobi. Graduation's today."

"Isn't that right?" Sasuke muttered, then kicked a pebble and began walking again. I gave the dog a goodbye and followed him. "Fuck, I would give my right arm to just go to my own bed and sleep until tomorrow. Let's go and be done with it."

"Couldn't have said it better myself."

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uchiha Sasuke will be the Team Seven under the command of Hatake Kakashi," Iruka said. I was looking out of the window, bored out of my mind, so I never saw him walking up to me and slapping my head before he talked so low only I could hear. " _Couldn't you show even a bit of surprise, for god's sake?!"_

I waved my arms over my head without a shred of enthusiasm. "Whoop-de-hoo!"

Iruka gave me _the_ look and walked back to his spot on the front of the class—probably already thinking bad things about me. By my side, Sasuke smirked and promptly got back to his sleep while Hinata just shook her head and paid attention to the selection.

Bored out of my mind, I tuned the world off again. 'Two hours?'

 **"No, I think he will wait for at least three,"** Natsumi said. **"Making an impression and all."**

'I think he already made an impression on Sasuke yesterday when he kicked that dude in the balls so hard he fainted, but you have a bet,' I answered the vixen with a grin.

Without Natsumi to talk I would probably have already gone ballistic and punched everyone at least one time—two, in Kiba's case. Don't misunderstand me, he wasn't a bad person or anything, he was just a fourteen years old boy greener than a fucking leaf who liked to _brag._

Everyone could talk the talk, I would've liked to see him walking the walk.

'What I really want to see is the kind of test he will give us,' I said, muffling a yawn as the people around the room began going away with their new senseis. 'Remember the one he did because I was leaning too much on my healing factor?"

 **"Oh, I remember that alright,"** Natsumi laughed. **"He doused you in gasoline and gave Dragon a bunch of matchsticks, I** ** _still_ can see ****their face when you just sat there and took it."**

I muffled a laugh. 'Must've forgotten I am fireproof.'

Someone nudged me on the shoulder and I turned to see Sasuke giving me a glare.

"Where is Kakashi?" he asked and waved in the directions of me and Hinata. "We're the last ones here already and there's no signal of the man."

I shrugged and picked a cigarette from my pocket. "Kakashi is always two hours late for anything short of a mission," a snap of my fingers and it was set alight between my lips. "He is the closest thing of an immortal I know because he will be late for his own fucking funeral."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "What we will do while we wait, then? I can't sleep on this desk anymore and you _should_ have known that he would be late."

"Oh, I knew alright—a minute here, give me a bit of space sweetheart," I said to Hinata and got up from my chair. I walked up to Iruka's empty desk and picked the thing from the ground with only one hand, the other one holding the cigarette while I waved to Sasuke's direction. "You be a pal and pick four chairs, yeah?"

Sasuke did what I asked for and put the chairs next to the table. I sat on one of them and motioned for them to do the same.

When they were all seated, I smiled and turned to Hinata. "Say, Hinata-chan, have you ever played the cards?"

"Ano Naruto-kun, I can't say I did. My clan frowns on betting games," she folded her hands in her lap, looking every bit the polite girl she was in comparison to me and Sasuke. "Why do you ask?"

"Because, Hinata-chan, you will now," I said and picked a battered deck of cards from my pocket. Sasuke had an eyebrow raised, his interest picked—I had got to him before and now he had a taste for the game. "Let me explain the rules. First, the dealer," I created a Shadow Clone and gave him the cards, "gives you your hand, then…"

* * *

Okay, my first impression of you lot is—what the actual fuck?" I heard Kakashi's voice and turned to see him poking his head inside the room. Surprise turned in amusement and he shook his head. "Naruto's idea?"

Sasuke huffed. "Of course it is, the bastard is robbing me blind and Hinata is picking the leftovers straight from the bone," he turned back to Hinata. "Is this really the first time you play poker?"

"It is, Sasuke-san, and I call," she stared unflinchingly at him and I was surprised to see such a daring look in her eyes. It suited her alright.

Sasuke threw his cards in the air. "I am done here. Fold."

"Got you here, Hinata-chan," I said and put the shurikens we were using as chips on the center of the desk. Our eyes met and she smiled as Kakashi sat next to me. "Last chance, you sure?"

"Of course I am," she nodded and the dealer revealed the last card. Seeing it, Hinata smiled brightly and revealed her hand. "If I remember the combinations right, it's a Full House! I think I won this round, Naruto-kun."

"Maybe," I grinned and tilted my head back to breath a plume of smoke, then turned my cards one by one, "maybe not, I see your Full House and raise you my Royal Flush, Hinata-chan. Are you in for the next hand, Kakashi?"

Hinata crossed his arms and made an undignified pout that I had a hard time not laughing at.

"You do know I need to follow the proper procedure here as your sensei, no?" Kakashi said, scratching his chin. "Oh hell, let's just say I did and be done with it. How are you, Sasuke? I remember that guy biting—"

"Let's not talk about that," Sasuke hastily said, looking to Hinata. "You don't want to know, trust me."

Hinata just tilted her head to the side and looked at him for some seconds before she shrugged. "I wouldn't want to pry on you boys business either way," she said and suddenly her eyes went wide. "Oh! I had almost forgotten. Happy birthday, Naruto-kun!"

The next thing she did caught me with my metaphorical pants down. She threw herself into a hug so strong that it almost broke me in two. It felt pretty nice, though.

 **"Oooh, she has some fire on her!"** Natsumi said.

'Why every woman in my life must have _some_ _fire_ is anyone's bet,' I thought and returned Hinata's hug the best I could—I still wasn't all that much accustomed with hugs. "Thank you, Hinata-chan, but I still need to breathe."

Hinata let me go and bolted back to her seat, her face red. "Sorry, I should have controlled myself more, what would the people on the clan think about that—"

"Hey," I cut her ramblings and put my hand on her shoulder. "You are among friends here, Hinata-chan, you can act in whatever way you want. Hell, it's not like any of us has any manners, so you're still ahead by a mile."

"Talk for yourself," Sasuke said, raising his nose up like a snob. "I still have pride in being more polite and educated than you people."

I snorted. "Sure you do, big fella. Why I still remember you lining the shots and saying—"

"Shut up," he ordered. I smiled and shook my head as he turned to Hinata. "The thing is, Naruto is a rude and unpleasant person all around, but he's right. Yesterday's night was… Hinata, I don't know you all that much, but I was surprised by what I saw, in a good way, mind you. Just for that, you already are much, much better than any other of these girls on my books."

"He has that straight," I said, my hand still on Hinata's shoulder. "We are a team now, Hinata-chan. No clan business or shit like that holding us, you can relax and be that crazy chick who shouted orders to my face and the Hokage all you want."

Hinata looked at each one of us and must have seen that we were saying the truth because she relaxed a little bit. It was not obvious to the untrained eye—her shoulders slacked, she had a small smile on her lips and put a hand on mine. For me, though, it was plainly obvious.

"While we are on that note," Kakashi began, "you all want to introduce themselves? You know, your names, dreams, likes and dislikes, these things. I think it would be good for building camaraderie here and—"

He stopped talking as I threw the butt of the cigarette on his face and Sasuke gave him a look that could freeze molten steel, even Hinata put a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

Kakashi dodged the projectile and sighed. "Yeah, I thought so."

"Reckon that bottle yesterday scrambled your brains something fierce, sensei."

Kakashi waved his hand dismissively at me, then coughed one or two times and began talking again. "Only one thing, as your teacher, I need to tell you that we are meeting six in the morning tomorrow at Training Ground Seven for me to give you lot your tests," he said, picking the cards from the desk. "Just protocol, you see."

You had to know Kakashi to recognize the glint he had in his eyes.

His mask stretched around his lips in what I thought as a rather sinister smile and he had that _kind_ of aura that made anyone's thinking of messing with him to think again. Suddenly I wasn't too damn sure if we had done the right thing in avoiding that heart-to-heart talk he wanted us to do.

"Now, my cute little genins, with all being said and done," Kakashi sorted the cards and looked right at me, the gleam on his eyes almost doubling in intensity, "who is in?"

Shit. Maybe I shouldn't have had thrown that cigarette at him.

Oh well.

* * *

The rest of the day went damn good if I could say so myself.

Mikoto gave me a little get together on her house for my birthday and, after she berated Sasuke and me for drinking, she relaxed and it became a pretty good party. I made a Shadow Clone take a picture of us, Sasuke with his arm over my shoulders and Mikoto on the other side, the Hokage smiling, Kakashi ruffling Sasuke's hair and Tomoe in my arms, even Hinata was here, looking all prim and proper.

The big smile she had betrayed her posture, though.

That picture would be on my nightstand for sure, just next to the only one I had of my mother and the others—like the day when Jiji made me wear his hat. I treasured them all.

I shook my head to clear my mind of these thoughts, but that smile wasn't going off my face anytime soon. Now, though, I was sitting on the grass—still wet from the rain yesterday—with Sasuke and Hinata, while we waited to Kakashi to show up on the Training Ground Seven.

We hadn't to wait for much. It was highly unusual to him to be on time and it sent a bad feeling to my gut, but it could be easily explained by the fact that he had the team lives in his hands now.

Kakashi could be lazy but he was hardly incompetent.

"Yo, good to see everyone there," he waved to us and I saw he had brought a stack of papers with him. I couldn't ask him what they were because he was already explaining. "First order of business, if I will be training you three, I need to know more about you. So, chakra natures, where to begin?"

Kakashi paced before us.

"Your chakra natures are the elements that you can turn you chakra more easily into. Someone with a Suiton element can do Doton jutsus, but they are harder and cost more chakra. Doesn't come naturally to them, you can say. I am Raiton, but if I want, I can do _this_ anyway."

Kakashi's hands flew through signs and he slapped it on the ground. From where he had touched, a pillar of stone and earth soared up until it was bigger than even his own body. Without giving any pause and with another flurry of seals, lightning cracked around his hand.

Then he touched a finger to the pillar and it was blown apart.

"We generally don't go into elemental transformations until you master the basics and become chunin, but I don't care about that and I will get to it sooner than most," Kakashi said, looking at each one of us. "Tomorrow we will begin the exercise of tree-walking, so I want everyone here who don't know how to do this to search for information about it. No excuses, the library is open all day and night.

Sasuke and Hinata agreed and I gave a sly smile. "Or you could ask me."

Kakashi shook his head. "No. I don't know how you do your things but they are far from the norm as it gets, so library it is. Okay, now this," he waved the bunch of papers again, "is chakra paper. Just pump a bit of chakra in them and I will know your chakra natures. Who's up first?"

Sasuke was the first, ever-so-curious to learn—even more if it was about himself. The paper in his hands began crackling in the second he activated his chakra and a piece of it erupted in flames after that.

That was kind of new, Uchihas generally had fire as the principal affinity.

"Raiton and Katon," Kakashi said, narrowing his eyes and scratching his chin. "Atypical, but interesting. I have a bunch of jutsus for you, Sasuke, but it will come later. I will need to round you three in the basic shinobi arts before we begin with jutsus anyway."

Sasuke nodded and it was Hinata's turn. I perked up from my position, curious to see what it would turn to as she picked the sheet. Soon as she let a sliver of her chakra inside it, the paper dampened almost to the point of dissolution.

Kakashi looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Suiton, and a very strong Suiton affinity—atypical as Sasuke's own affinity. The Hyuuga Clan generally have very strong Doton basis, which is good as they can want for their fighting style."

Hinata looked somewhat dejected for being again the black sheep of her clan.

Pure nonsense, if you ask me, so I put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly. No words were necessary to pass the feeling that I was proud of her anyway and that sadness almost vanished from her eyes, that fierce look I learned to like appearing on them instead.

"Want a go?" Kakashi asked, waving the last one over my face with humor finally back in his voice. "Who knows, maybe you're a Suiton too."

I gave him a dry look. "Gimme that, you wanker."

I wrenched the paper of his hand and looked at it, pumping a small amount of yang chakra in the thing. It suddenly straightened itself, glowing in a crimson that was almost black and with the edge looking sharp enough to cut bone.

I switched to yin chakra and that fucking thing flashed into ashes in a split-second.

"Something that vaguely resembles Katon and I don't have the faintest fucking idea of whatever the hell that one is," Kakashi declared and eye-smiled. "I think an exorcism is in order for you, kouhai—Sasuke, fetch me a priest and three ounces of holy water, fast."

"Aren't you a laugh?" I said with a roll of my eyes and set my cigarette alight.

"Oh, I know," Kakashi said and then pointed to the middle of the training ground, "For today, we'll do a one on one spar so I can gauge your level and deal with you accordingly in my training. I'll begin with Hinata." he declared, motioning for Hinata to go.

"Raise hell, Hinata-chan." I cheered for her.

"It's still not too late for me to pick the holy water," Sasuke said without turning back to me, watching with enraptured attention these two in the arena. "Seriously now, how do you think Hinata will do there with her Byakugan and all?"

I sighed. "Good for a genin, I reckon, meaning nowhere near Kakashi's level. He is a though fella and one of the stronger ninjas in Konoha, Sasuke, if he gets serious no one of you can hope to even touch him. Just as he said, it's only a test."

"You can, though?"

I didn't answer him and looked back to where Hinata and Kakashi stood. She wasn't looking all that confident and, sadly, she shouldn't. A jounin against a genin is overkill no matter from where you look at it and her opponent was Sharingan no Kakashi.

They meet in the center of the arena and bowed one to each other as a cold breeze blew through the training ground, no more jokes, no more talking, nothing. It was time to fight the good fight.

"Byakugan!" Hinata yelled, adopting the standard Gentle Fist stance and attacking.

It was painfully obvious that Kakashi wasn't even trying too hard to win. Hinata made attack after attack rain over him, targeting his chakra points one blow after another, but it was for nothing. Kakashi dodged and blocked every one with ease, just slapping her elbows, wrists, and knees away so they would barely miss him.

Hinata couldn't keep up and it showed.

Kakashi threw a sloppy jab in her direction and Hinata swayed to the side, making it go past her harmlessly, then she raised a leg to kick him in the belly. He parried the blow, pushing her away and getting out of reach.

Hinata pressed the offensive, obviously trying to overwhelm him using her natural flexibility to deal a sequence of punches and kicks from every direction. What surprised me was that she was shedding the constraints of the Gentle Fist to do so.

She really was trying to conquer any advantage in the exchange and was now giving him much more trouble than in the beginning. Even I could see that her real power wasn't in that traditional and static fighting style.

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" Hinata yelled and sprung against our sensei in a blur of fists.

"Two palms!" Kakashi just sidestepped the attack. "Four palms!" and again. "Eight palms!" now Kakashi kicked the ground and flew off her reach. "Thirty-two palms!" she jumped in his direction, faster than before, but the jounin still got out of the way.

She inhaled a deep breath and shouted the final strike. "Sixty-Four palms!"

Kakashi wasn't dumb enough to stand in the way of that shit, so he parried the arm away with his Icha Icha and rolled to his other side. The sheer strength of the attack broke a tree in the way of Hinata's palm and mangled the soil under it, yet Kakashi just appeared behind her and put his hands on each side of her neck.

He said only one word. "Dead."

And in a real fight, she would be. He could snap her neck with ease from this position. Defeated, Hinata's arms fell limply to her sides and she looked down, panting and trembling from the effort.

Kakashi saw that and messed her hair up. "Don't be ashamed, it was a nice showing and one which made me reach a conclusion—you're flexible and agile as you chakra nature hints and, for that, the basic Gentle Fist doesn't suit you at all," her head snapped up, looking at him with wide eyes. "The only time you made any advance at all was before the Sixty-Four Palms when you began to act by instinct."

Hinata shook her head. "But the Elders instructed me to—"

Kakashi cut her with a sharp look. "I'm not the Elders. Take everything they tried to tell you, crunch it in a nice little ball and tell them to fu—" he stopped himself and coughed. "I mean, throw it away. You're not the Hyuuga heiress here, Hinata, you're my soldier and, for my life, I will make sure that you survive in the field."

I could see the willpower burning behind his visible eye. "And no Elder will be in my way as I do that, I can assure you."

And they ask me why I respected that man.

To disregard the Hyuuga's teachings like that—to the heiress' face, no less, hell. Balls of steel, people, balls of steel. Hinata was a little happier when she sat at my side again and I tried to find any kind word to offer support to her.

I had never been very good at it, but hey.

"Nice going, Hinata-chan."

Hinata shook her head. "I couldn't even touch him."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and answered for me. "Of course you couldn't, you're a genin and he's a jounin—he could take all of us at the same time and win," then he looked to me, "maybe not all of us, no. So, you know, he's our teacher—just pay attention and you will be much better in no time. I know I will be."

My expression soured remembering exactly Hinata had said before. "Just one thing. Kakashi is completely right—fuck the Hyuuga's traditions. You need to adapt, Hinata-chan, to learn jutsus outside the clan, even a new fighting style. You don't have to submit to them."

She didn't answer us, just nodded and fell into a thoughtful silence.

"Sasuke," Kakashi called, "your turn."

Sasuke jumped to his feet and calmly walked to the center of the field. I admit that I was curious to see how he would do, after all, he was the one I sparred with time and time again.

Kakashi began the altercation with a punch, which Sasuke blocked and returned fire with a kick against his mid-section. Kakashi parried it by raising his shin and began an exchange of strikes that the Uchiha was hard pressed to block or dodge.

Again, the Interceptor Fist showed his weaknesses without a Sharingan.

Sasuke wasn't going down easily, though. After a few seconds of fighting, he took an elbow on the chest and understood that a frontal attack wouldn't do shit against Kakashi. He jumped back, making some hand-seals and inhaling deeply.

 **"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"** He yelled and spat a big ball of fire out of his mouth, the flames burning brightly while they roared in Kakashi's direction.

His fireball was smaller than I remembered from Itachi but still, damn impressive for his age and chakra reserves. A move like that could maim or kill almost all the genins I knew—too bad that Kakashi-sensei wasn't a green little genin.

While the fire was raging on, Sasuke went into the offensive again by throwing a number of shurikens in the direction he thought Kakashi was—I could even see the wires attached to them. When he felt it making contact, he pushed the wires with his mouth and made them tighten, preparing yet another jutsu.

"Stop," Kakashi's said and appeared by his side with a kunai pointed to his neck. The fire died down and a carbonized log was lying there, cut by the wires that Sasuke had used to make the trap.

Defeated, Sasuke sighed and let the wires fall from his mouth, bowing to his sensei before he went to pick them and Kakashi passed his judgment about the fight.

"It was the Interceptor Fist, no? Good style, but too heavily based on the Sharingan. We could make a few tweaks here and there to make you more efficient with it, but I want you to read about the Shunshin no Jutsu," Kakashi said and gave him a thumbs up. "Good thinking about the trap, though."

Sasuke just grunted, pocketed his wires and shurikens and sat again at our side. Kakashi looked at me, then at the field, and made a gesture. Almost lazily, I extended my hand to the fire still burning in the ground and closed it in a fist, snuffing the flames out.

"Now, the firecracker," Kakashi said with an eye-smile.

"Showtime's on, then," I said, grinning viciously at him and going to the center of the field.

There was no order to go. He came at me with a kick and I picked his leg under my arm, trying to elbow the knee to disable him. Faster than I could react, Kakashi spun and clashed a foot on my neck with his other leg, the sheer impact making me roll to the side.

He tried to stomp me while I was down and I rolled to dodge, then tried to kick his thigh. Kakashi must have seen it coming, because he jumped and fell all over me, using the momentum to slam an elbow on my solar plexus.

Coughing, I sent a weak punch in the direction of his head—a punch he dodged before he jumped back to his feet. When I stood up, still out of breath, Kakashi was already attacking back—almost everything I tried, he just blocked or dodged, and every strike he sent in answer connected inside my guard.

Backing down, I shook my head to clear the cobwebs and ran in his direction, trying to tackle him in the ground where I could subdue him.

Kakashi weathered the charge with his own strength, stopping my momentum and punching my ribs. I saw what he was doing, then—he knew that my natural strength was leagues ahead of his, so he was using chakra to make himself stronger, faster and more resistant

Before I could escape, he kneed me in the belly and took the breath out of my lungs for the second time along with some ribs. He bent down, picked me by the waist and lifted my body out of the ground—then spun and slammed me face-first in the earth.

I still stood up after that, wiping the blood from my forehead.

Kakashi stopped the fight for a second, though. He touched the bark of a tree and whispered something, then a dome of energy went up around us—trapping the part of the field we were away from the part where Sasuke and Hinata were.

I looked at them, Hinata with her hands crossed over her mouth and wide eyes, Sasuke with a bead of sweat trailing down his forehead. They weren't prepared to see that.

"Stop taking it easy," Kakashi said and began lifting his headband. "Didn't I teach you anything, Naruto? You must come at me with the intent to kill or you will lose. Where is that fire, that rage? Come here!"

"I will fucking show you," I said as my broken ribs resettled with a click.

"This is it!" Kakashi said, exposing his Sharingan fully to me for the first time that day. "No kiddie gloves anymore, time to let it go and _show me what you've got,_ boy, because I am not impressed yet!"

"Then burn!" I shouted and twisted my hand in his direction, letting a column of fire thick as a tree trunk eat its way to him. Kakashi looked like he would be hit—then he disappeared.

I closed my eyes.

Kakashi was leagues faster than me—he was the student of the Yellow Flash after all. Even then, I could still hear him. I could feel the heat of his body moving, I could pick up his scent and, every movement he did, I felt the air moving from it on my skin.

I rolled to my side and punched the ground to create a barrier of Adamantine, stopping the hail of kunais and shurikens coming at me—they clinked as they slammed on my defense, falling harmlessly to the ground. Then I blocked a kick from Kakashi with my forearm.

It hurt—no kiddie gloves alright.

Trying to locate him by his smell and sound, the only clue I had of where he had gone after the first attack was the punch I felt on my back. I turned to his direction, creating a kunai to attack him, but he was already moving.

The heel of his sandal slammed on my gut with the power of a battering ram, making me roll until I crashed on a rock. Shaking my head, I created a bunch of Adamantine chains with my chakra and threw against Kakashi—he dodged every one of them, breaking some with a hand coated in Raiton, then came to my direction again.

Kakashi began his offensive with a kick against the side of my body. I blocked it, but the strength of the attack made me stumble—so I jumped back just in time to avoid a punch and created a spear of Adamantine, which I threw to his head.

Kakashi picked it up with ease.

"Got you, bastard," I said and commanded the form of the spear to change, now being something like a tentacle that began snaking around the hand and arm he used to pick it. He gave me an almost amused look and made a fast round of hand-signs, which he finished by holding the wrist constrained by the Adamantine tendril.

I heard the chirping of a thousand birds.

"I know your Adamantine is weaker if it isn't in contact with your body, Naruto," Kakashi said and pure Raiton chakra flared alive in his hands, destroying my construct like it was nothing.

"But now I can hear you coming," I said, smiling as I focused on the Chidori's sound.

"You can," Kakashi said and the Chidori shone brighter and brighter. "Even more because this isn't a normal Chidori and I am surprised that you can't see the difference. See, the thing about lightning is that if you do a little change here and there…"

The brightness was almost blinding and just keep rising, more and more, the sound going up in volume along with it. I hadn't seen that before, maybe a new jutsu? It was looking more and more dangerous with each second.

"You see, lightning is just one thing," Kakashi said, "the prelude of thunder."

I screamed when the energy in his hand detonated like a thunderclap. It was too much—too much light and sound ripping my eardrums apart. I feel to one knee, my eyes hold shut and my hands over my ears as I felt blood dripping through my fingers.

How fucked up someone who can't hear his own screams must be?

Kakashi kicked me in the chin and I was sent flying through a tree. If I could pinpoint the moment, that had been it. Something just _snapped_ inside me—I stopped thinking of Kakashi as a person, I stopped thinking of him as my sensei just as I felt my throat reverberating with a growl.

Enemy. _Prey._

Spots danced on my vision as I got to my feet—the rest of it being a red haze. I saw three Kakashi coming at me. Clones. First one who went closer I punched a hole in his chest, then swung it to break the second. The third I caught by his neck and let out a stream of flames, hot enough to pulverize the stone it was made of.

Iwa Bunshin. No smell, no heat—just stone and earth. Clever.

Kakashi was nowhere to be seen, but I didn't care. I roared to the sky and shoved my hands into the ground, feeling my raw chakra coursing through them. A maelstrom of fire engulfed the field as I raised my hands—ripping apart everything as far as the eye could see in a tornado of heat and destruction.

I ripped the forest apart and was just too mad to care.

I let the fire die down when the smell of burned meat didn't come to me. My eardrums went back to working order with a _pop_ and I looked around, teeth bared and my hands balled into fists. The entire field was nothing but ashes now, but still no Kakashi.

When he came from under the earth, I had his scent. I didn't let him even fully get out of the ground and pounced, my hands holding his neck—which made a cracking sound as soon as I got there and he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Shadow Clone—these had a scent.

The Shadow Clone disappeared, but the Exploding Tag it was holding didn't. It detonated—more light, more sound, not enough to do the same as that Chidori, but enough to add fuel to my anger. More, even, when I saw the real Kakashi leaving the earth far, far away from me.

"You are angry, no? That's okay, I want you to be angry," I heard him saying even as I speed in his direction with the fire around my hands tearing trenches behind me. "I don't want the ANBU Kitsune, I want the beast you have deep inside—the monster, the reaper of Aogashima. Come here!"

He slapped his hands on the ground and created walls of earth between us—I barreled right through them, dust and shattered rocks scattering all around me. After the last one, there were two jounins—more clones. Adamantine chains exploded from my back, ripping through one version of him and whipping the other with their barbed end.

Both went up in smoke.

"I didn't come to fight you without being prepared Naruto," I couldn't pinpoint where Kakashi's voice was coming from. "I know that, one on one and in close quarters, in a battle of attrition, you are practically invincible—but we are ninja. We _never_ fight one on one and we never let the enemy choose the ground."

The real Kakashi appeared behind me, stabbing his kunai in my back more times than I could count. Blood welled up my throat as I lost focus and my chains disappeared. I turned to him, a fist raised to pummel that fucker down, but he caught my wrist and his kunai worked its magic on me—stabs under the sternum, then between the ribs, then the neck. Shoulders. I screamed as I felt the blade ripping me apart.

As he was coming and closer to carving my face, I put all the strength I still had behind the arm he was holding and, even within his grip, I brought it down—right on his face. The impact sent him shooting back, breaking a tree in half before he could substitute himself with a log, his kunai now lying on my feet.

"Still want me angry?" I roared, the blood dripping down my face and chest as I felt my organs regrowing and skin knitting together, it _hurt_. "Still want the monster?!"

"Yes," I heard his muffled voice—broken jaw, probably— saying in the distance. "Exactly what I want. Anger only cloud your mind, Naruto."

Something began sizzling at my feet and I looked to the kunai he let fall, still red with my blood and bits of me scattered all around. Then I saw all the Exploding Tags around the handle.

No, not Exploding Tags. Stunning Tags. Light and sound.

"Oh you motherfucker—" I began, but they went on and I heard no more. It was the same thing he did with the Chidori, fucked up the insides of my ear, fucked up my eyes, but I wouldn't take it lying low anymore.

I didn't hear myself roaring, but I still could smell. He was close.

I went after him. Clone after clone appeared in my way and I _tore them apart,_ uncaring if they were the true Kakashi or not. Walls of earth were raised and I broke them with my own body, I needed to reach him, I needed to catch him—to _hurt_ him. _Prey_.

When I heard a Chidori, I knew I was close—so I jumped in the direction of the noise.

I tore through another clone before I felt an excruciating pain on my back as his hand went through my chest—ripping through sternum and heart and arteries. I regained my vision and hearing just as my thorax exploded open, his hand going through my insides like a knife through butter.

"I wanted you angry because when you are angry, you stop thinking," Kakashi said in my ear as his hand still crackled with electricity. "Because when you are thinking—when you have your head on the game, you are dangerous. In this state, though, you are just a beast. A powerful beast, but an easy one to take down nonetheless, because you stopped using your fucking mind, Naruto! You lose."

Blood went through my lips to drench my throat and I made a gurgling sound. It took some seconds until my throat reformed enough for Kakashi recognize the sound as a laugh, my smile almost splitting my face in two.

"What are you laughing about?"

I looked at him the best I could from the corner of my widened eyes.

"No, no loss, _sensei,"_ I said, my laugh being more a cackle than anything. Just as the chain I had created and sent under the earth came behind Kakashi and poked him in the back of his neck. "Ain't no need of my spinal column and my body to control them, _sensei—_ I will survive the Chidori, but can you survive _this?_ Wanna to raise me your aces?"

The lightning from the Chidori doubled in intensity and I growled through gritted teeth as more blood came from my mouth. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me screaming—my enemy. Enemy. I needed to _win._

"Stop with that, Naruto," he hissed, his free hand holding my jaw and forcing my head to the side. He was panting and sweating, but still strong—strong enough to break my neck.

Or to make me see how Hinata and Sasuke were, both pale and banging on the barrier while screaming things I couldn't hear. "The fight is over! Do you want them to see you like that, Naruto? Like a damned animal? You can be one of the best, _the_ best, but you need to think!"

He brought his hand back from my chest. "Can you see I want to _help_ you, brother?"

He stepped back and let my body fall to the ground, his words being worse than the Chidori to the chest. As I felt the pain of my heart and my skeleton growing back, nerves flaring alive and sending signals of white-hot _agony_ through me, I closed my eyes.

"You're right," I said, my voice calmed and barely shaking. "You won, sensei. I am sorry."

He closed his eyes, breathing deeply. "I know, Naruto, I know. Let us meet our friends back, yes?" Kakashi said, his voice now sounding far away to me, to where he was taking the barrier down—what was I thinking, I hadn't know if the barrier could take that maelstrom of fire in stride or how they would see it.

It was just my luck that they couldn't hear me, or see my face until now. I didn't want to scare them.

Hinata was the first reach me. "Naruto-kun! Are you alright?"

Sasuke came to my side, putting my arm around his shoulder and helping me back to my feet.

"I am good, Hinata-chan, I am good," I said, my hand covering the almost-healed hole in my chest. Couldn't cover all the blood and ripped pieces of me scattered all around us, though, but it was a beginning. "Now I am good."

After fussing a bit over my wounds, Hinata turned back to Kakashi, her voice cold and with an edge sharper than any blade. She had her hands on her hips and was looking each inch the heiress she was. "What are you thinking, sensei? You were ripping into each other here! I was thinking that Naruto-kun was deaf, or blind, or even _dead!_ And you! I had my Byakugan on and thought he had killed you!"

"You sure you are alright?" Sasuke whispered to me.

"I am alright and I think it's the best moment of my life."

I spat a mouthful of blood on the ground and shook my head, scratching my chest and the new skin over there.

Kakashi looked at Hinata as the glow of the medical jutsu he was applying to his face disappeared. He sighed but didn't give an inch. "I wanted to show you a fight like that—like what I will prepare you three for. Prepare you for the people like him that are outside our walls and for fights like these," he then pointed to the horizon. "Our enemies are out of there, Hinata, with their hands itching for fresh blood—your blood. I will train you, I will teach you, I will make you three in the meanest soldiers I can, and I will do that because I will be damned before I let anyone here die."

Kakashi then looked right at me. "And now, you see why I need to."

After he said that, there was silence.

I knew why he had done that—first, to show them how the things were out of here, a battle to death just because he knew I could take it. The second option was a suspicion I had since the night I told them my story—he did that for dominance. Kakashi wanted to show why he was the team commander and not me, as I can look damn fucking invincible when I am telling the story.

He needed to show them the error of their ways. Kakashi showed that even a more powerful opponent can still be fought with tactics and cunning.

Now that I had my mind back into my control, I was grateful to him for that. Grateful and ashamed, because his idea of an unstoppable, maddened, and unkillable monster was me.

I gave my teammates a blood-stained smile and felt Hinata forcing a canteen of water through my lips, just as Sasuke gave me a pat on the back. I knew my role on the team, now.

I was to be their monster, through and through.

Looking to Hinata's worried look as I drank mouthful after mouthful of the water she gave me—no matter how you look at it, regrowing a heart could make someone very thirsty—it wasn't too bad. Not by half.

Even if only so I could protect them from people like me.

* * *

Time went on. Weeks were gone past faster than we could think about them, dissolving in a haze of training and D-rank Missions. The team was coming together nicely, now that they finished the tree-walking and were working on the water version. Kakashi focused my training in polishing my Taijutsu and meditation, something I really needed to work on.

Deep inside me, though, I still had a bunch of bad feelings about him.

I resented Kakashi. For that fight, for that _humiliation_ , because he made me scare Hinata and Sasuke just so he could teach a lesson to them.

 _Because he made you lose,_ a voice I was trying to ignore repeated, _because he put your weakness on display._

I took a drink of my beer and did my best to bury that idea.

"Hey Genma, how are your team going?" Asuma asked the jounin who had just arrived at our table in the Crooked Kunai. Genma was a young, twenty-something, brown-haired guy who had a reputation of being deadly with weapons and always had a senbon hanging from his mouth.

Genma sat with us and made a gesture for the barman. "A fucking catastrophe. I gave them a chance after they blew up the test, but I will need to send them all back to the Academy. Waste of time, I tell you."

"Can't be so bad," I said, drinking a bit of my beer. "Can they?"

"Not a damn wart on the devil's arse of a chance for 'em," Genma took a long drink and swirled the senbon around his lips. "I took Kakashi's idea and did the bell test, see, so when they band together right before me, I am here just thinking— _oh_ _bollocks, they can't be so dumb to think they can take me down in an all-out fight._ "

He stopped talking for a second to rub his eyes, I picked up a cigarette with Asuma and waited for the dude to come back from his funk. "But they are, oh they are. One cocky little shit even said that I shouldn't fight with my senbon here in my mouth, the bloody wanker."

I snorted and Asuma laughed as Genma waved his hands for us to let it out before he got back to the story. I will never, ever, understand why a genin would be so damn stupid to think he could win a fight with a jounin.

Asuma was the first to control himself enough to ask. "What you answered him with?"

"Spat the senbon right on his bollocks. Lightly, mind you, just a prick on his prick."

"Oh fuck you," I shouted and slapped my hand over my eyes. "This joke just _stinks._ "

"The lady at the hospital must have thought the same about the kid after he shat himself," Genma smiled and swirled the sake in his cup, taking his time for Asuma to stop laughing. "What's with you, big fella? How is the life going with the Ino-Shika-Cho brats? They measure up to the old gang?"

Asuma shrugged and exhaled a plume of smoke. "Can't say yet, but I know they are good people. That guy, Shikamaru, is smart as they come and I think I can get Ino out of her fan girl state—she raved and ranted all the time on the first day because Sasuke was looking like a corpse on the graduation."

"My fault," I raised my beer to him. "First time I brought the fella here, had a bit too much."

"Yeah, I had my suspicions," Asuma said. "Chouji is a bit on the meek side, but I think they can be good to go after some workout and when they come into their roles, yes."

I didn't doubt him. I hadn't had much experience with Ino except getting the hell away from her, but Chouji had a good heart and Shikamaru was just _scarily_ smart. He could give you a look and understand exactly what you would do, ten steps ahead of everyone.

"And you, red eyes?" Genma brought me out of my thoughts. "Troubles in paradise with Team Seven?"

"You really should be asking Kakashi," I answered, taking a sip of my beer.

Genma scoffed. "Oh, we all know he is the boss, but you aren't exactly a _genin,_ are you?"

"Look, fellas, I shouldn't—hey Kakashi!" I waved to him as I caught his scent entering through the doors. Kakashi walked in our direction, waving his book lazily as a greeting. "We were just talking about you."

"All lies," he said, picking up a chair and closing his book. "Yo, Genma, Asuma."

"Kakashi," Asuma said and Genma raised his cup to him. "Naruto was just saying how he couldn't talk about his team and all without you go-to order, so spill—how are things shaping up within Team Seven?"

I called the barman to bring a beer to Kakashi and set alight the cigarette Asuma gave me, waiting for our sensei to answer. Kakashi scratched his chin and looked at Genma with an eye smile.

"Can't complain, they are learning fast. We are already with the basics almost down and you all know what we can expect from this one here," Kakashi said, picking his beer and waving it in my direction. "I am thinking that after a week or two from now, they will be ready for me to blood them."

"What's is that I am hearing about bleeding?" someone shouted in a loud and chipper voice. I knew who she was and cursed under my breath for being distracted enough to miss her coming next to us. "'Ruto! Look at you, it has been ages!"

Mitarashi Anko glomped me like a freight train and almost knocked me out of the chair. "You keep getting bigger and bigger! How will ol' little me keep calling you brat if you are taller than Kakashi?"

"His own fault he is a midget," I said, my voice muffled by her… _assets_.

Anko was very easy in the eyes, what with the mesh and that trenchcoat of hers. She had purple hair and strange, but beautiful, brown eyes without pupils. We had met in the Forest of Death a long, long time ago and our status as outcasts made for a fast friendship between us.

"Easy here, Anko," Genma said as I desperately waved my arms to someone to save me from her vice grip. She always had been quite _lively_ with the people she liked. "You will suffocate the lad with your breasts if you keep going like that."

"But what a way to go," Kakashi said under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear.

Anko pouted, but let me go. I took a deep breath, dramatically.

"Hello, Anko-chan," I smiled and kissed her cheek, giving her a more sedate hug.

She smiled back and went to slap Genma on the top of his head. "Don't you go talking like that, you are just envious because no one wouldn't want to hug you like that, even if you were shitting gold and spitting diamonds."

"How rude," Genma said and laughed.

"Fuck you. So, boys, why didn't you call me to this meeting?" Anko turned to look at the other guys and crashed down on my lap. "O~oh, _muscles,_ nice! What are we talking about here?"

"Just team talks, how the boys are going and why the village is doomed after we put it on these youngsters hands," Asuma gave me a look. I answered with my middle finger, then he took a drag of his cigarette and motioned in Anko's direction. "When are you taking a team, anyway? It's almost time."

"Heavens forbid! I am good as I am now with the Torture and Interrogation, thank you very much" Anko said, stretching herself all over me like a cat. I knew that was just a game between us, so I didn't react in the slightest. "But my friend here is taking her first one this year," she waved her hand up in the air. "Hey, Nai-chan, I am here!"

"Who the fuck is Nai?" I whispered in her ear.

Before she could answer, we heard someone coming in our direction.

"Anko, I was looking for you everywhere, here's your drink and—" she stopped talking when she saw me. Oh fuck. Of course, of course Anko's _Nai-chan_ would be the fucking Kurenai Yuuhi, the woman I had short-changed by bringing Hinata into Team Seven.

"Uzumaki Naruto," she said. Kurenai was a bombshell—all curves and long legs, with a hair black as the midnight and red eyes that made me think of the Sharingan. Red eyes which were narrowed and appeared to be warm and welcoming as a fucking glacier.

These eyes told me, if her expression wasn't enough of a clue already, that no, she didn't like me in the slightest.

"Kurenai," I said, taking a deep breath from my cigarette. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Isn't it?" she answered, her voice still sharp. Poor Anko looked back and forth without understanding what had happened between us. "I don't generally believe in rumors, but word has it that Hinata not being on Team Eight as she was _guaranteed_ to, has to do with you. Is that true?"

"You should ask the Hokage," I said. Anko got up from my lap and picked up a chair, looking at us with wide eyes. "I wouldn't know, I am just a genin here."

"Don't give me that crap!" Kurenai shouted, giving me a glare. "Hokage-sama has all but said that and I talked to Hinata too, I _know_ that it was you who convinced the Sandaime to put her on your team. What possessed you to do that?"

I glared back at her with narrowed eyes. "Reckon you should watch your tone with me, Yuuhi."

"Hey people, calm down!" Genma said, trying to end things before they went ugly. "Kurenai, you can't blame him—as he said, it was Hokage-sama's decision. Even then, as Kakashi was saying to us, the team is going swimmingly. Hell, Kakashi is even thinking of letting their do their first kill—"

"Genma shut the fuck up!" I shouted a second too late.

Kurenai turned to Kakashi with hell written all over her face.

"Is this true, Hatake?" she asked and Kakashi nodded. "Are you out of your mind? They have been with you for weeks—weeks! They can't be ready for killing people yet, Hatake! For god's sake, they are fourteen, they are _children_! We are not at war anymore!"

Kakashi had enough.

Calmly, he raised himself from his seat and gave the woman a withering stare. "If I feel any need to hear your opinion about my teaching methods, jounin Yuuhi, I will ask for you to give it," he said, looming over her and looking every bit the Sharingan no Kakashi that people told stories about. "I will let you go off the hook easy because you're new, but don't kid yourself, I have seniority over you and everyone here who is not called Sarutobi. I _know_ what I am doing. When they put that hitae-ate, they left their childhood behind them to become _ninjas."_

Their silent war went on until Kurenai looked away and took a step back. Without giving off a hint of satisfaction about it, Kakashi got back to his chair. "For you, they can be children, but when they graduated—they became soldiers. _My_ soldiers, Yuuhi, and don't you forget that."

I couldn't help myself and smiled at the scene, satisfied with the dressing down Kakashi did.

Like she had sensed it, Kurenai turned to me, the anger from Kakashi's slap on the wrist boiling over and, in her eyes, finding someone she could take it up with.

"You are liking that, aren't you? A little genin hiding behind Kakashi's back, thinking you are so damn smart. We will see if you are still smiling when everything goes wrong because, in the field, Kakashi can't protect everyone—if you fail, just because you are too damn arrogant, your teammates will pay the price and you will have blood on _your_ hands, Uzumaki" Kurenai said, walking closer than me.

Then she leaned over the table and looked right into my eyes. "And I will say now. If Hinata is the one who gets hurt because you saw fit to act recklessly like you are the Shodaime reincarnated in flesh, I _will_ make you pay."

"Oh fuck," I heard Genma whispering as Kurenai jerked back like she had been burned.

"Felt that, girl? That is what happens when the Genjutsu you tried to put on me burns to fucking ashes," I said slowly, my voice barely louder than a whisper. "Oh, you are new and don't know about me, girl, but you just made a mistake here. Wanna tell me about blood in my hands like you fucking know something about it? Wanna tell me how to protect _my_ Hinata?" I bared my fangs, a low growl going up my throat. "Fuck you."

I put my beer back on the table—bubbles going all over the bottle's neck and the liquid _boiling—_ then felt the cigarette on my lips disintegrating into ashes and sparks as I got up from my seat and walked to Kurenai.

"Wanna know why I brought Hinata on my team? Wanna point fingers? Yeah, I point mine to you now," I said, my face inches from her. I felt a hand on my shoulder pulling me back and shrugged it off. "I did it because I don't trust you. You fashion yourself the new Itachi? I fought the old one and you don't come even _close_ to him, barely a silly imitation with smoke and mirrors. I asked the Hokage to put her on my team because I think you are weak, girl, and you didn't prove me wrong yet with that display."

"And who are you to say that? Who died and make you the boss, genin? I am trying to protect Hinata because I know her—I don't know you, but what I am seeing here is a boy who is too angry for his own good," she shot back, sustaining my stare. "There are some problems here inside your head and you want me to trust you with Hinata? I think no."

"She is on _my_ team, Kurenai. I don't need you to trust me with anything," I said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, _your_ team, _your_ Hinata, say you?" Kurenai said, taking a step forward with a scowl on her face. "Silly me, here I was thinking that Team Seven was _Kakashi's_ team."

I growled in annoyance.

I finally heard the people on the table calling for us to stop with it. Kurenai was still staring at me with fire on her eyes and the table was smoking where I was touching it.

Genma had his face between his hands repeating _fuck me_ over and over and Asuma was looking right at Kurenai, concern clear on his expression.

I felt my hands clenching and my overpowering chakra coursed through my body—who was she to say I wouldn't be able to take care of my own? Fuck her. Fuck her. Who was that bitch to dare to say I would _fail?_ My canines began growing. I wanted to rip that smile off her face, to show her exactly who she was messing with, I wanted to—

To show her how much _weaker_ than me she was.

I reeled back and crashed down into my chair with my eyes wide and an ugly feeling in my chest, paler than I ever remembered myself being before. I was close, so close, to doing to Kurenai the thing I despised most in the world—to hurt her, bully her because I was strong and she was not. To prove her as _weak._

I looked back to the red braid on my wrist and Kakashi's words on the end of our fight echoed back in my mind.

I needed to control myself—I couldn't let myself go off the handle. I couldn't become like these people I _hated_.

 _What the fuck was happening to me?_

"That's enough, Naruto," Kakashi said, putting a hand on my shoulder and giving Kurenai a glacial stare. "Time for you to go."

His tone said everything—it was an order, for both of us. I looked away from Kurenai and took a deep breath, fishing around my pockets for another cig and trying to calm my shaking hands.

"I think I have overstayed my welcome here," Kurenai said, straightening her dress and giving me a scathing look. "There is something dangerous behind your eyes, boy, and it's no Nine-Tailed Fox. You remember what I said about Hinata and god help you all, because that what I saw here isn't something who can protect her. See you, Anko, Asuma, Hatake."

"Go," Kakashi said, his tone still low and his eye narrowed.

Kurenai had thrown the first punch and I wasn't wrong for answering in kind—just my reasons were. If it had been a fight because she threw that Genjutsu, if it had been to fight to show her how wrong she was, I would be all for it. Somewhere in the middle, though, I just wanted to hurt her. To make her know that she _couldn't_ win against me.

Hell, it made me remember Kakashi's fight—how I had _scared_ Hinata for nothing.

And let me tell you, Yuuhi was no Kakashi to take head-on what I could deal.

Kurenai turned to the exit and went away, her composure set again in place. She didn't look back to us. I rubbed the bridge of my nose and thought about what she said—and about what I almost had done—as Kakashi gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze and got back to his chair.

I felt a warm hand holding mine and turned to look at Anko.

"Are you alright, 'Ruto? Nai-chan was out of line there, she shouldn't have done that," she said, anger at what happened clear in her eyes.

I took a deep breath and shook my head. "No, she shouldn't."

"For what is worth, I am proud of you. You hadn't any obligation to back down after the Genjutsu, you could have _destroyed_ her here, but for what reason? Nai-chan was just worried about Hinata-chan, she just met you today and saw an enemy here," Anko said and crouched by my side. "I love you like a brother, 'Ruto, and I am proud of you for being the better man this time. I know how it is to feel angry, to want to make people _pay,_ but you're better than that."

She gave me a sloppy kiss on the cheek, then smiled.

"Hold it in mind, okay? Now, can you give your big sis' Anko a smile?"

I looked back to the people at the table and felt the weight of their stares upon me. Shit, I really had almost done it, hadn't I? Feeling like I was all-powerful and all-righteous, drunk on myself, it wasn't like me at all. Not at all.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, no?

"I will try to, Anko-chan, I will try," I said, giving her a small smile and pulling her closer to me.

"See that you do," Asuma said and offered me another cigarette. "Let's change the subject, yeah? What's that I heard about you, a nun and a donkey, Genma? Care to enlighten us about that?"

Genma coughed and all of them laughed as Anko spat a bunch of beer right at his face, but the laughter didn't reach Kakashi's eye—he knew me better than everyone here, and I would bet he knew how close to do something regrettable I had been. His expression held a warning— _you aren't on ANBU anymore,_ _control yourself_ _or else._

Kakashi always did gave me much leeway but, now, he was putting his foot down.

I knew the reason, then—that fight between us hadn't happened just so he could teach Sasuke and Hinata. He was trying to teach _me,_ to show me why I needed to be better.

 _Look underneath the underneath._

The bad feelings faded as I raised my bottle to Kakashi in a salute.

There wouldn't be any doubt about who was the team's boss after that.

* * *

Kakashi took his time. He wanted to make sure they were prepared the best they could be before we headed out of Konohagakure for the mission. We had cleared the air between us nicely with a round of drinks and some slapping around—men thing, you understand—and we were back on the same page again.

Even then, I was surprised when he asked me if I thought they were ready.

He took my answer to heart and was gone to talk with the Hokage. Jiji knew it was coming, how couldn't he? You don't go and put an ex-ANBU on the command of a bunch of children, especially one like Kakashi, who would protect them or die trying. At least you don't do it without being prepared to give some concessions like that.

The wind blew my hair back on the ponytail it was on. I didn't feel the cold of the night, but just because I was a veritable furnace all times—a thing my teammates had taken notice of, as they were close to me. Especially Hinata.

Not that I had any complains, mind you.

Kakashi would make a final debriefing of what we had talked about the plan he made with Sasuke and what we had trained to go—trained and trained and trained again. We all had our tactical gear with us, plenty of kunais and shurikens. Ready to put the plan into motion.

"It's your first time in a mission out of the walls of the village," Kakashi said, seriousness clear in his voice. "There will be no errors today and we will come back together, or no one will. It's a routine mission, just clearing up a small bandit camp, but I want every shred of focus you lot have with me today."

He extended the map on the ground before us. "Let us review what we have planned for this—Hinata will be with me, entering from here," he pointed to the position in the south of the map, "and Sasuke is with Naruto coming from here," then he pointed to the north of the area we knew the camp was.

"Now, raise a hand who hadn't killed someone before," Kakashi ordered and, after a second of hesitance, the only raised hand was Sasuke's own. He gave a questioning look to Hinata, who I saw almost hiding behind me.

"Story for another time, Sasuke," I whispered in his ear. "Just let it go."

Kakashi took it in stride. "Sasuke, I will not mince words here—this night can very well be your first kill. As I am with Hinata, I want you obeying every order given by Naruto and acting like what you are, a ninja, serious and with your head on the game. Can you do that for me?"

Sasuke nodded to Kakashi, his jaw stubbornly set.

"Good, the same goes to you, Hinata, and you, Naruto. If I say time to go, it's _fucking time to go,_ I am understood? Alright. Let's pick the pace because I want it done before the sunrise. We are goddamn shinobi, people, so let's work in the shadows."

He jumped into the trees and we followed him. That was our first mission outside the village and I could smell the fear and excitement coming from Hinata and Sasuke clearer than everything else. The adrenaline coursing through their veins as we went to do our baptism of fire as a team. Because with Team Seven, it was always all or nothing, and no one would give less than his full effort into doing what's needed to be done.

There was too much in the stake for any other option.

Despite myself, I smiled.

 _Welcome back, Naruto_ , the night whispered to me, _welcome home._

The world was laid bare before us and the hunt was on.

* * *

If you like the story or want to comment anything, **please review!** Thank you, lads.


	7. Chapter 7 — Dogs of War

**Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue; I do not own, so please don't sue.**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven  
Dogs of War  
**

 **"Expecting trouble?"** Natsumi asked as I jumped from branch to branch to follow my team through the forest—all of us settled in the standard manji formation, with Kakashi on the front, Sasuke and Hinata watching the flanks, and me behind them.

I snorted. 'You kidding? No, just thinking about that thing with Kurenai—about how I was so angry with her and all. I know I have a temper, but that was kind of over the top even for me."

The moonlight shone between the leaves and showed us the path to the bandit camp. I just loved that—the scent of forest and the noise of all these little things living there, oblivious to our presence and without knowing the touch of civilization.

Without any concern.

 **"Of course you did, the bitch threatened your _pack_."**

I slapped a bug out of my hair. 'Come again?'

 **"You see Hinata and your team as your pack, Naruto. Similar to a family but not quite the same,"** Natsumi said, sounding like she was explaining something painfully obvious. **"You just saw that woman as a threat and reacted violently. It's quite expected, as I think more or less on the same lines."**

'Side-effects of having you inside me?'

Natsumi laughed. **"No, not really. More like a side effect of your shitty upbringing."**

I chewed on my lower lip. 'Makes sense. Will it cause more problems for me?'

 **"Now this would be telling, let's wait and see. You make an interesting subject of study, Naruto—like a little hamster running on the wheel."**

I grinned at her teasing. 'Say, don't foxes eat hamsters?'

 **"Oh, we definitely do,"** Natsumi's voice had a vicious edge as she said that. **"Run along, now, your queen is sleepy."**

Story of my life—now I was just a test subject to a mad scientist, who also happened to be my girlfriend and a godly being of mass destruction. It was like mum saw the concept of _sanity_ coming to me while I was still in the womb and said I would have no part on it.

Really.

Kakashi raised his hand for us to stop and we regrouped around him.

"Firecracker?"

"Three big bonfires burning on the camp and thirty-three sources of heat on the northern side, forty on the south," I turned to Hinata. "Hey, can you do a double-check with your Byakugan for me?"

Being honest, I knew I was completely right in my assessment, but the thing was that we had to familiarize Hinata with the right way to do these things—I wouldn't be around her every time and her Doujutsu made her quite the tracker, after all.

She nodded and the veins around her eyes bulged as she activated the Byakugan, giving her a threatening appearance. "I can see them and Naruto-kun is right. Are we still following the plan, sensei?"

"Of course, you will have to deal with me today, Hime-chan" Kakashi said and turned me and Sasuke. "Firecracker, you will pick up Princess and go through the northern entrance like we planned, I and my cute little genin will be waiting for the signal on the south."

"Do you really have to use these codenames?" Sasuke glared at Kakashi, who just ignored the question and began picking his ear while muttering something about loud flies. Sasuke scowled. "Right. I asked—must you really make us use these stupid codenames, _Our Great Lord and God_?"

"No, not really," Kakashi shrugged, "but it amuses me greatly. See you on the other side."

With a thumbs up, he picked Hinata and disappeared with a Shunshin.

Sasuke turned his glare to me. "I am not calling you Firecracker."

"I am not that thrilled either, Princess," I said, then jumped from the branch and crouched low on the ground while Sasuke followed my movements closely.

The bandit camp was a simple thing—probably just a meeting point to them while they worked on the Land of Fire. It consisted in a bunch of tents strewn around the top of a hill with the meager protection of a crude palisade circling the area. There were some people making a perimeter along the borders, but almost no one close enough to bother us—the exception being the two guards on the main entrance.

I pointed to them. "You wait here and let me do the talking."

I didn't wait for Sasuke to answer and took advantage of the shadows to creep closer to the guards in absolute silence. One of them was big and burly, almost on my height, but the smaller fellow carried a wicked-looking sword and looked like he knew how to use it.

Didn't matter—I wouldn't give him time to.

I snapped my fingers and the fire of the torches around them was extinguished.

I attacked as they turned to see what happened to the fire. The big one I caught by the back of his neck and pushed him down, face first, on one of the stakes of the palisade—a muffled squelch marked the moment when the sharp wood stabbed him through the eye and was embedded directly into his brain. He was dead before he could make a sound.

The other sentinel hadn't time to say anything. He turned to look at the noise I made and I punched him in the solar plexus, driving him out of breath. He doubled over and I appeared right behind him, placing him in a chokehold. The man gasped and clawed and spat on my forearm until I brought him to his knees and snapped his neck with a sharp crack.

The fire on the torches returned with another snap of my fingers and Sasuke walked to my position, an eyebrow raised as he looked at the limp cadaver on the ground and the blood trailing down the stake. "That's what you call talking? Eloquent."

"No," I snapped my fingers again and killed the torches and bonfires everywhere in the camp. "I call that a good beginning. Give it a minute, maybe half, and they will begin to come outside the tents. Fear of the dark is a powerful thing."

"More like fear of what is out in the dark," Sasuke said under his breath.

We waited with as those who were awake, true to my prediction, began leaving the tents and banding together on the center of the camp. I could feel that not everyone was there—maybe a bit more than half of them, probably drunk and tired. Easy pickings.

"Kakashi is waiting for my signal to attack. Step a bit back."

"Naruto, you do know I can't see in the dark, no?" Sasuke asked just loud enough for me to hear. "How the fuck are you expecting for me to go on and fight blind?"

"Just wait for the signal," I grinned. "One more step."

Sasuke obeyed and I turned back to the campsite, taking a deep breath. I opened my arms and felt the familiar power churning inside me, ready to get out and devour as I poured my chakra out—the flames I created circled my forearms like snakes and reached the palm of my hands, twisting and condensing here as I aimed to the center of the camp.

The blast of fire I let go of each hand was bigger than me and powerful enough to make my hair fly back with the displaced wind and crack the ground around us.

Twin pillars of heat ate their way to the bandits, tearing a trench on the earth until they made contact with the center of the agglomeration and exploded in a ball of sheer, raw destruction. The hairs on the back of my neck rose as I shivered in anticipation and the night was suddenly illuminated by an inferno of flames.

The explosion ripped the camp apart—not metaphorically either. The lucky ones ended just running around and screaming, with some falling on the ground and rolling to snuff the flames. I heard cries for help coming from everywhere as every single one of them learned that fear of darkness was nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to what the light could bring.

"Now you can see," I looked back and laughed at Sasuke's dumbfounded expression. I pumped my fist up in the air to snap him out of his shock. "Let's go, Sasuke!"

We ran into the madness without bothering with any tactic or disguise and we were all over them before their surprise waned off. No cloak-and-dagger bullshit, just the good old fight with adrenaline pumping through the veins _._ Just where I felt like being home.

A man was coming on my direction—or was, until I caught him by his face, raised him on the air and slammed him down on the ground. Bones cracked and he hanged limply for my grip as I saw a bunch of dudes banded together near me.

I dropped the body and charged.

I shoulder-tackled the closest bandit I saw, strong enough to send him barreling through the nearer tents like a ragdoll, then I picked a second by his neck and, creating a kunai in my free hand, stabbed it on his eye-socket. Blood sprayed on me as I twisted the blade and I heard someone coming close, so I removed the kunai and threw it dead center on his forehead—he went down and didn't move again.

A man tried to stab me with a knife and I sidestepped the attack just he almost caught me. He stumbled harmlessly by my side, guided by his misguided momentum, and I kicked his legs from under him.

He fell in the ground face first and I stomped his head, squashing it.

"This is madness!" Sasuke shouted as I sent a spear-pointed chain to pierce a bandit. He had a kunai in each and, as I turned to look at him, Sasuke crossed them to block the swing of a sword and smashed a spinning kick on his enemy's jaw for his troubles. "You're fucking mad!"

"Madness?" I yelled back, my grin almost splitting my face in two. "This is—oh, fuck you!"

"Wha—" Sasuke began saying, just to shut up as I turned to the bandit coming from my back to surprise me and backhanded him. A normal person would need to put all his weight on an attack like that to even begin to hurt someone. A normal person would find the move totally inadequate to the field.

A normal person wouldn't cave a cranium in with it.

I had never been a normal person.

I laughed, hard and good, as Sasuke cursed and turned to face his new opponent. There were two more men coming at me and I went to meet them—two big men with even bigger blades, probably thinking they were hot shit and could take me down.

The first one was disabused of this notion as I blocked the swing of his sword with my armguard and punched him in the gut, raising him from the ground. His body almost molded itself around my fist as his organs were pulverized and he spat blood.

I threw him to the side and walked slowly in direction of his friend, who was backing away from me. I looked him right in his eyes and opened my arms, taunting him as I smiled.

"Good iron you have here, a big sword for a big guy," my smile widened, if that was possible, as I felt his eyes stopping on my pointed canines. "Think you can take me down, big fella? Come on," I took another step in his direction. "Go ahead. _Make my day_."

He turned tail and ran, his sword clinking on the ground as it was left behind. I bent down to pick the sword, huffing in annoyance, then pointed my hand at the man's retreating back and blasted a column of fire on his direction—the flames engulfing him entirely and burning hot enough to melt metal.

"Fucking coward," I sneered as I walked back to where the first guy was lying down and beheaded him with a swift movement of his comrade's sword. "Sasuke, my man! How are you doing there?"

Sasuke grunted as he broke the arm of a man he had locked in a chokehold and rolled back, avoiding a stab from other bandit and using the movement to throw a bunch of earth on his face.

The bandit—thin and ugly as fuck, I noted—stepped back and rubbed his eyes, what gave Sasuke, still lying on the ground, an opportunity to kick the dude's shin and slam an elbow on his throat as he fell over.

Impressive.

It seemed he was ready and in position already.

I needed just a _little second_ more.

"How do you think?" Sasuke answered with a strangled voice as he turned the skinny dude over and punched him in the face repeatedly. Satisfied with his work, he got to his feet and exhaled a tired breath as he turned to me. "I am not fucking kidding you as I say—Naruto, get down!"

I heard someone moving behind me.

 _Now._

"The hell?" I shouted in surprise and the point of a blade appeared on my stomach. I looked at it and fell to my knees, a trickle of blood going down through the side of my lips as I felt the sword ripping more of me on its way out. "Fuck me."

It was like the world had stopped moving for a second or two as I saw Sasuke narrowing his eyes in anger and shooting into movement. He swiftly picked the sword I dropped to the ground and met the other man's blade with an enraged swing of his own.

Sasuke's attack sliced through the other sword as, instinctively, he ran chakra through his blade and and lightning crackled around it.

His sword didn't stop until it cut the man in half.

Sasuke stopped cold, staring at the man as he let out a scream of agony and fell to the ground in two pieces, blood and entrails pouring out of him. You could almost pinpoint the moment he realized what he had done.

"Oh no," Sasuke said, dropping the sword and stepping away from the corpse with shock written all over his face. "I wasn't, fuck, I," Sasuke turned to me and his jaw hang limply as he saw me getting up and cleaning the blood from my lips with the back of my hand. "Naruto, I forgot you could heal and, dude, you need to believe me, I— "

I saw all the signs on him, fuck, I _knew_ the signs. Sasuke was pale as a corpse, sweating and shaking with a wild look in his eyes. He tried to wipe the blood off his hands on his shirt over and over and was on the verge of a breakdown, with just the adrenaline holding him together.

These were the signs of a first kill.

"I need you to calm down," I held his shoulder and gave him a sad smile. All had gone perfectly, just according to the plan. The _plan_. Just thinking about it soured my humor something fierce and I suddenly wanted nothing more than to just end the mission the faster I could. "We need to finish the mission and—"

Sasuke eyes were still open wide as he looked back to me.

I instinctively took a step back.

His eyes were shining in a baleful red.

* * *

"Thirsty?" I asked Sasuke as I kicked a burned body away, offering him a beer we had pillaged from a tent that hadn't quite burned down with the rest of them. There was nothing on fire anymore, as I had taken care of it when the fight ended, and that just made the silence more uncomfortable.

Sasuke hadn't said a word since he killed that man.

The rest of the mission had been just protocol. I took down the remaining men on our side, as Sasuke was too shocked to act all that much and help me, then we met Kakashi and Hinata on the center of the camp, both smelling like ashes and dirty with blood—none of it their own.

Kakashi just needed to take a look at Sasuke's state to know what had happened to him. After that, he inclined his head to me as if he was saying _nice job_ and called Hinata to help him to find anything useful on the wreckage. At least, it was his excuse to give I and Sasuke time to talk.

"Whew," I smiled, looking at the stars scattered on the sky, "nothing's better than a good drink after the work is done," I said and lightly shoved Sasuke's shoulder. "So, nice to see that you managed to obtain the Sharingan. Good for you."

He still wasn't talking. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Are you going to be silent forever or can we get going, Sasuke? Let it out of your chest, you will feel better."

"Why did you make me do it?"

I turned to see Sasuke glaring at me, his voice sounding hoarse.

"Come again?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I am not dumb, Naruto, not nearly enough to fall for that. I know you set me up to kill that guy—hell, I saw you getting a hand through your chest and acting like it was nothing in that fight against Kakashi. I want to know why you did that," Sasuke said, slowly, and absently minded picked the beer I had offered him.

When I didn't answer, he threw the beer away and turned at me, the rage—the hurt, all of it clear on his face. "Tell me your reason. Now."

I rubbed my hand over my face. "Because you needed to kill."

"It doesn't explain why you had to manipulate me like that," Sasuke pressed on, "you could just have told me. I know what's on the line, Naruto, I know what I need to do as a shinobi. I am no fool."

This time, I met his glare with one of my own.

"Because the time when you need to kill is exactly when you can't hesitate, Sasuke. Yeah, you are no fool, but what you know here," I poked him on the forehead, "isn't the same you know here," I poked him again, now over his heart. "Maybe it would work anyway. Maybe in your first time in a do or die situation you would win, who knows?"

I scoffed. "Maybe. If. All these words, these pesky things of doubt," I looked away from him and took a gulp of my beer. "Doubt has no place here. Want to know why I did it like that? Because I can't risk your life, our teammates, or the mission just on a hunch. Can you?"

The silence went on until I thought he wouldn't answer. When he did, his voice was so low that I almost didn't hear what he was speaking, even with my enhanced senses.

"No," Sasuke looked down. "I can't."

"Me neither," I agreed, tilting my head to where Hinata and Kakashi were in the wasteland we left behind. "Want to know something awful? Hinata had it worse. I even asked her if I could tell you, just before this mission."

Sasuke shrugged, still without looking to me. "Why not? Go on."

"Are you sure?" I punched his shoulder and grinned. "I can wait for you to go and find the beer you threw away on your temper tantrum."

"Bastard," I almost missed the little smile on his face as he shoved me back. "Just talk."

I snickered and drunk more of the beer. "First things first, you need to know Hinata's dad. Hinata says he isn't a bad dude, you see, that he is a loyal ninja and it seems he tries to do things the best he can. I have my doubts, mostly because Hiashi Hyuuga has a little problem."

"He is a complete asshole?"

"Right in the one," I raised the bottle to him in a salute. "So, Hinata-chan was kinda timid a few years ago, a long way from this little terror who can scare we all into submission. Our buddy Hiashi looked at her, then looked at her scores on the Academy—which were bad ones, because she didn't want to hurt people without a fucking good reason.

"Sounds like a pretty sensible attitude, if you ask me. Yet, Hiashi didn't ask me and then had a brilliant idea, a hell of a genial idea," I spat on the ground. "Must have pulled it from his all-seeing asshole, that wanker."

Sasuke picked the bottle from my hands and took a long gulp.

"Hiashi, obviously armed with staggering amounts of stupidity, brought our girl to Konoha's prison. Once there he bribed, cashed on favors, and maybe sucked a dick or two, but finally managed to bring a dude from the green mile into a closed room," My hands balled into fists. "A room with only him and Hinata-chan."

I looked back to where Hinata was waiting for Kakashi to search some tent, oblivious to our talk as she waved to us.

"She looks cute, doesn't she?" I picked the beer from Sasuke and waved back to her. "Imagine, then, how Hinata felt when she found herself locked into a room with a motherfucker who, by the way, had raped two women already, and his father just sat there saying she wouldn't get out until he killed the bloody bastard."

"Fuck," Sasuke rubbed his eyes. "Look, Naruto—"

"She was twelve."

He shut his mouth instantly.

"As I told you, Sasuke, it could always be worse," I said, feeling really tired as I got up from the grass and slapped the dirt out of my pants. "For what it's worth I promise I will never lie to you again," I then threw the bottle back to him, "even if I want to."

I turned back and, just as I began to walk away, I heard him talking.

"I just don't want to forget, you know? I don't want to just go, kill everyone and then act like it doesn't bother me—fuck, Naruto, death should matter. The end of a life should be worth more than a laugh," Sasuke had no accusation or anger in his voice, that was just the raw, naked truth. "I just don't want to do that like you do."

He said nothing more after that.

I knew what he was thinking. The massacre had robbed his innocence about how the world works, but I had destroyed the last shred of it he had, the one he still was trying to hold on.

The innocence he still had about himself.

I looked to Kakashi and Hinata coming back on our direction and screwed my eyes shut, not wanting to turn back and see the expression on Sasuke's face. _We are different people,_ I repeated to myself, _what is true for me isn't the same for him. We are different as the sun and moon_.

It still hurt a little, though.

"You do it on your way," I opened my eyes again and smiled to Hinata, "I'll do mine."

* * *

We got back to Konoha just as the sun began to appear in the sky. Sasuke excused himself back to his home, saying he needed to sleep—not that he had fooled anyone with that. He just needed time to think and come to terms with what had happened. Time with Tomoe and Mikoto would be good for him to deal with that.

"Seeing how there will be no training today, I am going to report to Hokage-sama," Kakashi said and turned to me. "Are you going to be alright, Naruto? I can go later if you need to talk."

I grinned and shook my head. "No, _Our God and Lord_ , go and be praised."

Behind me, Hinata muffled a giggle with her hand.

Kakashi just sighed, a long-suffering expression on his face. "Sure, Firecracker. See you too, Hinata"

As he disappeared with a Shunshin, he somehow managed to make the leaves of his jutsu slap me in the face. Bastard was just sore because he hated doing reports, I tell you.

"I think I should go too, father is waiting for me," Hinata said, fidgeting and hesitating a bit before she suddenly pulled me into a bear-like hug. "Are you really going to be well, Naruto-kun? I know what Sasuke had to do today, and you were the one to make him do that."

"I am made of sterner stuff, you know," I smirked and used the opportunity to take a deep breath of the lavender scent of her hair. "Relax, Hinata-chan, you turned okay after I met you in the same situation. I am good with words."

Hinata gave me a disbelieving look. "Sure you are, especially after you promised you would invade our clan compound and have words with my father. Words you went into a detailed explanation about."

Seeing the expression she had, I couldn't resist and cracked up laughing.

Hinata moved her hand a bit inside the collar of her jacket and smiled brightly. I looked down and saw the pendant of a star dangling on the golden chain he had in her hand, a gift I had given to her many, many time ago.

"I still remember the oldest story, Naruto-kun."

"The best one," I looked right into her eyes as I whispered that to her, our faces closer than they ever had been before. "You still are that little star for me, you know? Even after all this time."

Something glinted on her pale eyes as her smile, if that was possible, widened. It was just when a passerby looked at us with an amused smile and snickered that the moment was broken and I took notice we were still holding each other. Holding each other very close.

"Okay!" Hinata made a cute sound of surprise and let me go, jumping back almost like she had been shocked. "I really need to go now."

I scratched the back of my neck and nodded. "See you, Hinata-chan."

"Goodbye, Naruto-kun!" Hinata scurried away fast as lightning while somehow managed to look dignified, even as her cheeks burned red with embarrassment. Impressive.

Natsumi laughed. **"What a way you have with words!"**

I grunted in answer and jumped to the closest rooftop, picking the pace back to my home while I hummed the tune of an old music. 'Comes with the territory. After all, Nat, I am a man of wealth and taste.'

The way I was running on the rooftops, it didn't take long to the building I lived on to appear on the horizon as the village blurred around me. I liked it like that—away from the brunt of the movement and from the people talking endlessly with each other. When you can hear a pin dropping from the opposite side of the room you learn to appreciate some silence.

 **"Wealth and taste my finely shaped ass,"** Nat scoffed and I could almost see how her lips were twitching in disgust. **"So, when are we getting out of that hovel?"**

I sent a pulse of my chakra to an Uzumaki spiral inscribed on the wall of the building, which disarmed the defense seals I had scattered everywhere—nobody wanted to live next to the demon, after all—and entered my home through the window.

"Well, Jiji gave me an account with the money from my time on the Black Ops before the mission yesterday, so I think we can see someone about that soon. He was kind of trying to keep me as a secret and you know how it goes while reporting to the Daimyo," I huffed in annoyance and took off my shirt. "If walls have ears, that wanker's court is a fucking labyrinth."

 **"I knew some courts in my time,"** Natsumi said, **"burned most of them, if I remember things right—but you didn't answer my question."**

I took off my boots haphazardly and the pants followed them to the floor. "Dunno, I will ask him to look into buying a house on the outskirts of the village for me, maybe even in the back of the monument," Natsumi then growled in warning and I held my hands up. "After you tell me your ideas, of course."

 **"See that you do,"** she said as I gave a once-over to what I had in the fridge and threw my kunai pouch over my shoulder. The apartment was organized—I didn't spend much time here anyway. Mikoto's house was more of a home to me that this place had ever been.

I walked into the bedroom, pausing on the way to reactivate the safety and sound-proofing seals and to throw my weapon's pouch in a pile of laundry of the size of a rather well-fed Akimichi, which was saying something.

Bathing would take precious time, a time I really didn't want to spend awake, so I just erupted in flames—just for some seconds, enough to burn or vaporize all the dirt and dried blood scattered all over my body.

I would take a proper bath after my deserved sleep, thank you very much.

"I am spent," I announced as I jumped on the bed and closed my eyes. My breath evened and I felt my muscles relax for the first time that day, the tension and alertness washing away from me. "Mindscape after I sleep for an hour or two?"

 **"Mindscape it is."**

* * *

 **"Wakey wakey, I know you aren't sleeping anymore."**

I didn't open my eyes, being comfortable as she caressed my hair and I laid on her lap—both of us were in the bed of the Mindscape's house and I wasn't ready to let that feeling go. It was just when she began kissing my cheek and chin that I cracked an eye open.

"Hello you," I whispered and pulled her closer to me.

Her lips brushed against mine and I caught her in a fierce kiss, cherishing how Natsumi's lips tasted slightly of strawberries and she felt so damned soft under my hands. She answered the kiss in kind, pushing me against the bed and straddling my hips.

I would never stop marveling at how beautiful she was. That large smile, red eyes burning with passion and raw emotion, that body which wasn't anything less than divine. It always surprised me how she was, simply put, perfect.

 **"Yes,"** she purred slightly as I bit her neck. **"Give me more."**

I held her by the waist and rolled to the side, reversing the positions and now above her as she crossed her legs on my back. The kiss was growing more and more heated as Natsumi scratched my back and her yukata slipped down her shoulders.

I began to lose control as our tongues danced together and my hands roamed under her clothes, feeling every inch of her body as desire burned inside me. I wanted her, wanted to make her _mine_ and mine alone, I wanted that so much that it almost overpowered every bit of reason I had. _Almost._

 _You need to control yourself._

I jerked back from her.

"Nat, I don't know if I am ready yet—"

 **"Oh please!"** Natsumi said and shoved me away hard enough to make me hit the headboard. Anger burned on her eyes as she got off the bed and straightened her clothes, after what she put her hands on her hips and glared at me. **"What the fuck you need to be ready for, Naruto? I want you, you want me, why the hell are you still hesitating?!"**

I sighed and rubbed my face. "It's not that simple."

 **"It is! I know exactly what you are doing, you are trying to fight against who you are again! Control your instincts, be a rational, logical man, all that bullshit!"** Natsumi shouted and the glass of the window cracked as she made her annoyance known.

I tried and tried and tried, but couldn't found it on me to deny that.

 **"I am not saying that you should just be an animal or something,"** Natsumi's voice softened as she walked closer to me and caressed my cheek. **"Naruto, all that talk about controlling yourself, denying your instincts—that's for out of there. If you still want to lie to yourself and prove to these fools out here that you are domesticated, tamed, _civilized_ , go and do it,"** she put his hand over my heart and brought her lips close to my ear, **"but here, I know who you are. I know what you are, and I want you."**

Her voice was temptation, pure and simple.

 **"Even then, if you still think that I am going to abandon you and go away after I get what I want from you,"** Natsumi shoved me again on the bed and putting her creamy thighs on each side of my body. **"Well, I just need to show you stupid this thought is."**

She let the yukata slide down her shoulders.

I stared and it had never been clearer to me how perfect she was. Every inch of her was flawless, her stomach flat and taut even while she was all curves—her breasts being just big enough for me, their pink tips hard and inviting to the touch.

To hell with it.

"Fuck control," I growled and pulled her to me, finally letting my instincts take over. A normal woman would've had bruises where my hands were grabbing her as I pushed Natsumi down and rolled over for me to be above her. "Fuck Konoha. Fuck being civilized. I want you _now_."

Natsumi laughed and kissed my neck, her pointy canines teasing the skin with each butterfly kiss she laid there.

"You are mine," I said in her ear. "I am not letting you go. _You. Are. Mine._ "

Natsumi raised her head just enough for me to see her eyes—now shining brightly exactly as I saw mine doing time after time before, with the little veins around them illuminated from within by a red light. Like mine during all the times when I lost my hold on myself and just ran wild, fighting and killing and destroying everything in my path.

Like all the times I felt alive and free.

 **"Then make me yours,"** Natsumi whispered to me in a husky voice.

That was all the invitation I needed.

The next kiss was just hungry and frenetic as I roamed her body with my hands—I could just will her clothes away, as we were in the Mindscape, but something on me just wanted to take them off in the good old way. Like a ritual, between us and us alone.

So I did just that.

I almost ripped the yukata off her while I sucked her lower lip and heard her moaning—what drove me almost into berserker lust by the sound alone. I teased her throat with the tips of my fangs, mimicking what she did before, and teased the sides of her breasts with my hands.

Natsumi gasped and buckled under me, his hips rubbing against mine. She wasn't wearing anything under the clothes I had taken off her and it became painfully obvious very fast—but I still wasn't finished. Her nails gouged the flesh of my back as I trailed my lips lower and lower, smiling to myself with each twitch and squirm she made.

I couldn't know how much time I spent just exploring her body with my hands, lips, and tongue, tasting her and making her contort in pleasure under me—minutes? Hours? I didn't care, I just wanted to make Natsumi feel like the goddess she was.

Her hands, fingers interlaced on my hair, tightened their hold on mine's almost painfully—an sharp contrast with when she was pulling me deeper into her—and Natsumi pushed me to look in her eyes. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and grinned.

 **"I don't want to wait anymore,"** she panted on my ear and bucked her hips against mine again, willing the boxers I still had on to disappear with nothing but a thought. **"I want you. _All_ of you."**

I obliged her and Natsumi bit my shoulder hard when I finally entered her, her cry of pain—maybe pleasure—being muffled by my own flesh. I only took notice of the fact that he had broken the skin as she kissed me with the taste of my blood still on her lips.

God, she was _hot_ —literally. I had to do my best to not explode here and then.

Funny thing is, the Mindscape is just a manifestation of my mind within the seal. With all these overpowering sensations bombarding me and Natsumi, the land around us started to reflect our state as our voices, our moans, cries, and bodies mingled together.

The earth shook and the Mindscape twisted into itself and broke with a screech—not that any of us cared even a little, lost on each other as we were. The house was ripped apart, every wall breaking into particles of light and the bed disappeared in the same way. The sky above us rumbled, cracked and _burned_ as the rain began falling.

Natsumi was in the top position now, her hips going back and forth to match my own and her breasts heaving with every movement she did. Her fingers were interlaced with mine as she looked up, her eyes closed and her beautiful red hair framing her face, and screamed in pleasure.

Her nails ripped trails down my chest, the wounds closing as soon as they were opened.

I just noticed, then, that the rain falling all around us was made of fire.

Everything around us had been engulfed by a maelstrom of flames and, yet, nothing there could possibly come even close to burn hot as we did. Two beings of fire, finally together—our sweat evaporating as it touched skin and we both moving with enough strength to break solid rock.

There was nothing human about us there—just raw, naked need and lust and pleasure, as we just did as our instincts demanded from us. I couldn't care less about anything else by the time we screamed together in a climax.

Hell, in that moment I couldn't give even the smallest shit about being human anymore.

All that mattered was Natsumi.

My Natsumi. My goddess.

Mine, just as I was hers.

* * *

 **"That was better than I expected,"** Natsumi said, sweat glinting on all of her body as she circled my chest with a finger. Even with our constitution, we were exhausted—and I felt quite proud of myself for making the queen of the Tailed Beasts tired.

It had been as much of a first time to her as it was to me, but still.

"Tell me about that," I smiled, the rocks of what had been a hill until we shattered it into rubble under me as we laid there with our legs entwined together and both of us naked as the day we were born.

I looked at Natsumi and my smile widened as I took my hand off her shoulder and gestured to the effect we had on the scenery. "Just imagine if this happens after I free you from the seal. The Kyuubi reborn, back to destroy the village with the power of literal world-shattering sex."

 **"How rude,"** Natsumi slapped my chest and laughed. We fell into a comfortable silence, both of us wanting nothing more than relax and sleep—together, for the first time. Natsumi bit her lower lip and looked to me, waiting almost a full minute until she began finally began speaking. **"Naruto, I—"**

Whatever she would say, though, was interrupted when the Mindscape's sky rumbled and the clouds disappeared, a reddish-orange outline appearing in the now clear sky—heat, sound, and scent. My mind was giving me an alert that someone was approaching on the outside.

"Fuck," I cursed under my breath as I recognized the person as Sasuke. I jumped to my feet, stomped the ground and, with practiced ease, the house appeared again like it had never been destroyed.

Just as I turned to Natsumi, she cut my words with a kiss.

 **"We spent all day and night together, Naruto, Kakashi probably sent him here,"** she said, then kissed me again and smiled that big smile of hers. **"I need to sleep anyway, you weren't exactly sweet and careful with me."**

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you complaining?"

 **"Perish the thought,"** Natsumi got to his feet and began walking back to the house, sashaying her hips all the way. She had a mischievous gleam in her eyes as she turned to look at me over her shoulder. **"Next time, I want more."**

Then she just went away, laughing all the while.

Sometimes, I wonder if Nat was the kind of woman that mum would tell me to run away from.

* * *

I opened the door right before Sasuke could knock. "The fuck you want?"

Sasuke was startled for barely a second before he gave me a look from head to toes and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Many things, but we can begin with you putting some fucking clothes on."

I looked down to see that I was wearing just my boxers.

Recovering fast from my surprise, I smiled and looked down to Sasuke—he was a good foot smaller and much, much thinner than I was. Benefits of having an overclocked healing factor and Uzumaki blood, probably.

"Envious, little bishounen?"

Sasuke raised his eyebrow and made a sweeping gesture to the outside. "By all means, no. You can go out just like this and take these fangirls away from me," he crossed his arms, a smirk tugging the corner of his lips as I winced. "Doesn't seem like that much of a good idea anymore, no?"

"I will be back," I said, then closed the door hard enough to shake the wall and ran the fastest I could back to my bedroom, cursing under my breath all the while.

I never put my clothes on faster in all my life.

"What you want?" I opened the door and touched the little seal, almost invisible, just above the doorknob—activating the safety seals of my apartment. If Sasuke was impressed with my speed, he didn't show.

"Meeting on Hokage's office," he said. "Kakashi sent a dog to the training field to warn us, but you weren't here, so I came here and—bloody hell, can you stop smiling already?!"

"What?" I hadn't noticed I was smiling until he pointed it. "Oh. My bad."

Sasuke just grunted and led the way out of the building, giving some surreptitiously looks to me as I began whistling and greeting everyone on the way—the reactions of the villagers being all over the spectrum from outraged to shock-induced cardiac arrests.

"Naruto," Sasuke pulled my arm before we could run through the rooftops to the Hokage Tower. "Stop for a bit here, I need to talk to you. About the mission yesterday."

"There's no need, really," I was fast to dismiss him. "We were—"

"I am sorry," Sasuke interrupted me and bowed his head. I just looked at him, slack-jawed.

"What?"

He took his time to find the words—time I used to pick a cigarette and put it between my lips, as the smattering of scents of the village began to feel mighty uncomfortable to me already.

Sasuke finally found his voice and put a hand on my shoulder. "I want to say I am sorry for what I said after the fight. Telling you I don't want to be like you like it was a bad thing—that isn't true. I respect you, you know, but I—"

"You want to be your own person," I said, feeling the smoke of the cigarette dulling the edge of the village already. "Find your own way of life, all these things. I know what you meant."

"Yeah," Sasuke said, nodding and looking away. "Just wanted to say that I don't fault you for doing what you did—it will help me in the long run, and I even got the Sharingan. It's just, I was angry there and I lashed at you, and that wasn't right."

"Easy here, Sasuke," I raised my hands in a conciliatory gesture. "I understand."

We just stood in silence for some time—two guys lost in the masses that moved all around us, each one of them with their simple and, frankly, boring lives. I would never be that simple to us shinobi, and, all in all, I was fine with that. I couldn't imagine living like these civilians even for a second.

Then the moment passed and Sasuke gave me a punch on the shoulder, his expression times and times lighter than it was before that talk. "Good. So, let's see if your good mood can endure the dirt you will be eating."

"What—"

Sasuke punched me right in the gut, strong enough to make me spit the cigarette.

"That's for lying, by the way."

He then jumped into the rooftop without waiting for me and began running. I could see in the way he was moving that Sasuke would be the fastest one between us in the future—he was built for speed and finesse, instead of brute force and raw power like me.

It didn't mean I couldn't still teach him a thing or two, though.

"Oh, you are so fucked," I spat under my breath and blurred in movement after him.

* * *

"You cheated," Sasuke accused me as we entered Jiji's office, pointing his finger right on my face. "Chains doesn't just appear from the ground, and they don't actively chase people around!"

I slapped his finger away.

"We are ninjas, Sasuke, it's kinda the job's description. Yo, Jiji, Hinata, God."

The gang was all here, Jiji puffing on his pipe, Hinata reading a magazine on the sofa, and Kakashi with his Icha Icha—which he waved in our direction as a greeting. Sasuke gave me a last glare and fell on a chair, his arms crossed.

Drama queen.

"Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun," the Hokage greeted, tipping his hat to us. "I know you are just back from a mission, but you are the only team here I can trust with this—the job hangs between a level low enough that I can't give to a chunin or jounin team, but high enough that I can't give to a genin team. Not one without experience."

"Gai and his team are out?" I asked and Jiji nodded in answer. "Fuck. Sensei?"

Kakashi just shrugged. "Fine by me."

It didn't fool me in the slightest—he wasn't careless, not with us. Kakashi would have known Jiji's plans before he even dreamed of calling us here to be briefed on the mission. It was just for show, to give us an opportunity to protest and choose.

"Good. Your mission is to escort the client, a bridge builder, to the Land of the Waves and guard him until he finishes the bridge," Jiji interlaced his fingers under his chin and called his secretary. "Miss Kira! Please send Tazuna in."

The smell was the first thing to hit me.

I picked a cigarette and put it in my mouth faster than someone could blink, taking a good puff of the smoke. The man who had entered reeked of sake—cheap sake at that— bad enough to make my nose burn.

"This is the team?" he asked just as he passed through the doors, a middle-aged man with brown skin, withered by years of work under the sun, and a distinctive hat. He looked to each one of us with a morose stare. "Not impressed. A one-eyed scarecrow, a shrinking violet, some brat who looks like a girl and a thug."

I balled my hands into fists.

"I can assure you, Tazuna, that this team is perfectly fine for the job you need them to do," Jiji still had a polite smile on his face. "If you still aren't pleased, you can update the mission to a B-rank. A-rank, maybe?"

Tazuna's eyes widened for a fraction of second before he settled back on his nonplussed expression. There was something dirt under here alright. "No, I am good. They are not much, but that's all I need."

Sasuke was gritting his teeth together, loudly, and even Hinata had narrowed eyes at the blatant dismissal of our team. I looked to Kakashi and made a gesture with my head to Tazuna. I knew Kakashi had understood as he closed his book and gave the man one of these eye-smiles of his.

"Tazuna-san, isn't it? You can rest your mind about our team, I am a jounin and I can guarantee you will be protected to the best of my abilities," Kakashi said, attentive and polite and absolutely bullshitting Tazuna. "Matter of factly, I want to give you a demonstration now about how. Naruto?"

I nodded to Kakashi, every inch of me being the good little soldier, and put my cigarette on the Hokage's desk. I took my time looking at Tazuna's and grinned as he averted my stare, a bead of sweat coming down his cheek.

The red and slitted eyes could be quite of unnerving to most people.

I began circling the old man and sniffing the air. "You was on the road for two or three days and, for what I can smell from your clothes, you didn't bathe once. The last time you ate was yesterday, fish, I think," I took a deeper breath. "More than that, this sake you have on your hand and the four other bottles in the backpack are homemade, probably illegally. For how your joints sounded as you walked here, you have had fractures on your right leg and two of your fingers. The one in the leg didn't settle correctly."

Tazuna had a clenched jaw, looking everywhere but to me.

"You have slightly hypertension and the second valve of your heart is weak, probably a congenital defect—you should look at that—and lastly, you smell of hope, desperation, and need. All things that, combined, would suggest that you should treat better the people in charge of keeping your life safe."

I gave him a last sniff before I went back to sit on the edge of the Hokage's desk. I picked my cigarette again, taking a long drag on it before I looked back to Tazuna, an innocent smile on my lips as I relished on his shocked expression.

"What would I know, though, I am just a thug. I can ask the shrinking violet, who happens to be the heiress of the Hyuuga clan with one of the most coveted bloodlines on the world, to see inside you with the Byakugan," I inclined my face to Sasuke. "Or I could ask the pretty boy, who, also, happens to be the _heir of the Uchiha clan and possessor of the Sharingan_ , to profile you, if you want."

Sasuke glared at Tazuna with the red eyes of his Sharingan.

There was silence in the office, everyone maintaining a stony expression as every one of us was trying our damnedest to not laugh out loud at his face. Tazuna coughed, trying to find his composure back, and turned to the Hokage.

"I am out tomorrow morning," a pulsated on his forehead. "Have a good day."

He turned tail and left, stomping loudly on his way out the office. I looked back to Kakashi and he raised a hand, telling me to wait, at least until Tazuna had left the building.

Everyone began laughing then—even Jiji, the ever-dignified old man.

"Did you see his face when I talked about the sake?" I asked Sasuke, doubled down in laughter as he had that Uchiha smirk on his face, only in the thousand watts version. "I thought he would jump at me here and there."

Even Hinata was giggling madly, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Quite impressive, Naruto-kun," Jiji was the first to regain his poise. "Now, on business, your mission is to escort him back to the Land of the Waves and protect him while he is building a bridge here, a mission simple as they come."

I shook my head. "You can drop it, Jiji, there's something I didn't say—he reeked of lies and I know he couldn't have fooled you or Kakashi. What's the real mission?"

Jiji raised an eyebrow. "Impressive, indeed," he said, then picked four folders from his drawer and laid them on his desk. "These are the copies of the files we have on the billionaire Gatou, who actually has a stranglehold on the Land of the Waves if my spies can be trusted."

I picked mine's and my teammates did the same with theirs. On the very first page, there was a resume of Gatou's trajectory up in the world and a picture of him, a squat and portly man with beady eyes, glinting with some measure of malicious intelligence. Bad news.

"Gatou from the Gatou's Corporation?" Sasuke asked, flying through the pages with his Sharingan memorizing everything.

"Exactly, Sasuke-kun," Jiji said as I looked over the information. It wasn't looking all that good. "I want the Team Seven to do a reconnaissance here, protecting Tazuna and putting out a feeling from the situation on the Wave."

I shared a look with Kakashi.

"Well," Kakashi clapped his hands together and turned to the team, "six in the morning on the north gate, then. I want you lot to get supplies for one week, weapons included. This is our first long mission out there, so there will not be training today—take your time to put the head on the game. Now, chop-chop."

Sasuke got up and waved him goodbye while Hinata, the ever so polite Hinata, bowed to them before he went on her way. I followed them out of the room after I gave Jiji a goodbye and picked some of the documents for further studying.

On the corridor, I heard Kakashi calling me.

"Naruto, a word."

I nodded and waited for him to talk. It was obvious that there was more on this mission and we were going practically blind on enemy territory. Maybe, just maybe, it could be a simple reconnaissance mission that would go well as we expected, but I knew better—nothing was that simple with us.

I crossed my arms. "You think shit is going to hit the fan?"

"Yes," Kakashi eye narrowed, "you know what it means."

A devious smile appeared on my face as I rubbed my hands together in anticipation. Of course, I knew what it meant—to bring the big guns to the play, and in the ANBU manual, it meant just one thing.

Overkill.

"Shock and awe?"

"Yes," Kakashi looked up at the ceiling, "and may the gods help us."

He disappeared in a Shunshin and, just then, I let my smile drop.

I read the files about Gatou on the office—and something called out to me. I shuffled the documents I had and felt the pieces clicking into place. Among that multitude of crimes, ranging from drugs to extortion to murder, I found what I was searching for. Just one thing that made it personal.

Human trafficking.

The papers on my hands burned and my jaw clenched in anger.

That weird feeling appeared on my chest again and that familiar rage, old but not forgotten, began coursing through my veins one more time. That information meant just one thing and it had nothing to do with Tazuna and everything to do with the red braid on my wrist.

Truth had been set in stone.

This meant _war._

* * *

 **Innocence**  
 _The Oldest Tale_

Hyuuga Hinata didn't know what to think.

Since she had killed that man— _that bad man_ , she repeated to herself, _that man who would die anyway_ , Hinata was feeling like she was just going through motions during her days.

She took part in the ceremonies of her clan, she reported to her dad, her grades on the Academy had even got up.

Why, then, she felt so hollow inside?

Hinata couldn't deal with it anymore and ran. She ran and ran after the Academy, giving the slip to her guard, Ko, and going deep into the forest around the village. She felt like her body was going to burst—her feelings all bottled inside her and she needed to be alone.

Hinata wasn't aware of the tears trailing down her cheeks as she ran.

Inside the forest, though, she let herself stop—promptly falling to her knees. Away from the all-seeing eyes of her clan, Hyuuga Hinata sobbed, kneeling over the leaves and dirt.

 _Be polite_ , they said, be controlled and stoic, _never show your emotions_ , they said again and again and again until shutting herself from the world became a second nature to her.

Something roared in the forest and she jerked back, her eyes wide—suddenly finding herself looking to the form of an enormous bear that appeared from the underbrushes. The beast was many times bigger than her and hundreds and hundreds of pounds heavier.

Hinata felt fear, then.

How could she shut the chakra pathways of something that big? She hadn't the necessary control. No, it was the end of the line—no more glares from her father, no more traditions weighing her down, no more obligations and protocol.

Hyuuga Hinata was going to die.

This thought made something inside her snap.

That meant no more time playing with Hanabi. The thought of dying didn't bother her, but that meant no more laughs with her few friends, and that she would never heal Neji's wounds.

It meant that, as she would die, her clan would never be united.

It wouldn't do.

Hinata picked herself up and shouted _Byakugan_ , feeling many times bolder than she ever felt herself being before, and assumed a stance from the Gentle Fist. All that resolve that made her kill the man when her father ordered her to made her stand tall—Hyuuga Hinata wasn't going to die here.

Her dream wasn't going to die here.

She had much to do, much to repair, and so much to change.

And, if she died, that would mean that she couldn't tell Naruto—

"Naruto-kun?!" Hinata exclaimed as a yellow bolt slammed on the bear with the sound of thunder hitting the earth and made it crash back-first on an enormous tree. The bear roared in anger and, standing between her and the monster, Hinata saw him—Uzumaki Naruto, smiling as he stared down the beast.

Naruto was almost two years older than her—there were talks he flunked the Academy two times already. Hinata admired him, his drive, the fact he never took anything lying low and never shied down from a challenge. Before she had known, he had already a crush on him, and seeing how she was almost the only one he talked to on the Academy, it made that crush even stronger.

Attention is gold for these starved of it.

It didn't hurt that he was really good looking—taller than everyone and heavily muscled, the whiskers on his cheeks making him kind of ruggedly handsomely.

"Yo, Hinata-chan!" he said without looking at her, his red eyes—and how Hinata like these red eyes! Always glinting with some mischief and humor—were focused directly on the monster he was fighting.

Fighting for her, she suddenly thought. To protect her.

Hinata had no fear for herself, but she feared for Naruto's life.

With a growl, the two combatants met each other again and, to Hinata's surprise, Naruto pushed the bear back with sheer strength. One step, then two, then three, until he was dragging the bear in direction of the three he had slammed it on before.

Hinata had the Byakugan activated and she saw everything. Naruto picking impulse and simply twisting in the air, then falling on the back of the bear, his hands on each side of the enormous head of the beast. Naruto's muscles bulging, veins straining on his arms and neck.

Then a resounding crack and a shout of victory as the beast fell to the ground, dead with a broken neck.

She saw all of it, and even then, could barely believe in her eyes.

"Hinata-chan," Naruto appeared next to her, "are you alright?"

"You are asking _me?_!" Hinata asked, hysterically and with her eyes widened as she searched Naruto's body for any wound. _Strange_ , she thought, _shouldn't I be blushing and shy?_ "You fought a bear to the death just here, Naruto-kun, and you ask me if I am alright?! You are completely out of your mind?!"

Naruto scratched his neck. "That's nothing, really, I just saw you running and crying. You were acting kind of strange this week, so I came here to see if you were alright—you are, aren't you?"

Hinata looked at him, dumbfounded. He had fought a beast of that size to protect her and followed her here—all that just because he was concerned about her? She stared at him long and hard, trying to make sense of it, and almost jolted back as he touched her shoulder.

"Hinata-chan?"

She acted by instinct, throwing herself at him with a hug and letting her tears flow. "No, Naruto-kun, I am not alright. Not by a long way. I did a very, very bad thing."

Naruto felt uncomfortable—but he did the best he could. He caressed her hair and waited until she calmed herself. "You can talk to me, Hinata-chan. I am not going anywhere."

A single look at his smile was all she needed to make a decision.

Hinata told him about all of it—how her clan treated her, how she feared to be not good enough for being an heiress and how she felt alone. Then she began telling about what her father made her do, that man she killed in the prison.

Naruto just hugged her tighter— _did Naruto always feel warm like that?_ she asked herself.

Hinata told him everything, poured all her dreams and fears and nightmares and he just sat there and heard it all, without saying anything or asking for her to stop.

When she ended the tale, it was night already and Naruto was sitting by her side, still in silence. Just that he wasn't the Naruto she knew.

His eyes were two red lights on the darkness of that forest, no pupils visible and shining brightly like twin spotlights and his canines looked sharper than she ever remembered. Naruto had his hands balled into fists and his jaw clenched so hard that Hinata feared his teeth would break here and then.

"Hinata," he said, slowly, like he was trying to control himself, "you did absolutely nothing wrong. That man was scum, simple as that, and you did the world a favor by killing him. I know it's hard and I know it just doesn't go away—but trust me, it will get better."

Naruto rubbed his hand over his face—that whiskered face she liked to look at when she thought nobody was watching. She never before had seen him with that intensity in his eyes.

"It will get better," he continued, "the woman I saw here, ready to fight that bear for her life, isn't the kind of woman who will get himself break with only that experience. You're better than that," Naruto put an arm around her shoulders. "I _know_ you are better than that—and if you don't trust yourself, trust me here."

"How?" Hinata asked, almost in a whisper. "How would you know?"

"This, Hinata-chan, is a story for another time."

They felt in a comfortable silence, thinking about what just had happened. Deep inside the forest, with the dead body of a bear just cooling here and only the moon and stars shining over them.

Hyuuga Hinata still didn't know what to think.

"Hey," Naruto called and Hinata turned back to him, just to see him lying down in the ground and pointing to the night sky, "do you know the stars tell a story?"

Hinata looked up, she saw the inky blackness of the sky peppered with the light of a thousand stars. So many. So unreachable.

"I can't say I do, Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled. "That's a story someone told me a long, very long time ago. The tale they tell, Hinata-chan, is the oldest story in the world."

"What story is that?"

"Light versus darkness."

Hinata looked back to the sky. "I don't know, Naruto-kun, it seems to me that the darkness has a lot more territory."

"It's because you are looking at it wrong," Naruto shook his head and pointed up again. "You see, Hinata-chan, once there was only darkness up here."

Naruto turned back to her with the smile still on his face.

"If you ask me, the light is winning."

Hinata blushed as he looked at her with such _intensity._

"That's why I think you can do whatever you want. When I look to this village, to the darkness of the shinobi's work—I see you here, with your kind heart and wanting to make the world better for those around you. When I look to you, Hinata-chan, I see a little star just like these, fiercely shining among the darkness."

Naruto looked back to the sky. "I like it. I like how, even against the world, you still make me think we can win."

Hinata didn't answer, as she couldn't trust her voice. A stray tear trailed down her cheek and she stood here on the grass, just looking to the sky with him. It was strange—she felt like she had no more words inside her after everything.

Sometimes, just having someone to talk could be enough.

"Let's go back to the village," Naruto suddenly laid, looking like himself again as he got up to his feet and patted the dust out of his pants. "You have a dream to work for, after all. Never give up and never go back on your promises—you say you adopted that from me, didn't you?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun," she looked down. "I hope you aren't mad for that."

When he offered Hinata a hand to help her get up, she didn't hesitate.

She felt his calloused hand on her cheek and looked up to him. "Why would I?" Naruto asked, a smile on his face. "These are pretty good words to live your life by. Did you knew that my people on Uzushiogakure had them engraved on the gates of the village?"

"Uzushiogakure?" Hinata asked, tilting her head to the side.

Naruto didn't let her hand go through all the way back and guided her out of the forest, talking about the village his clan had and how he felt about them. Hinata let him do the talking and just looked at him, his head held right and his back squared—like he could take on anyone with the same smile he had while he fought the bear.

For the first time in weeks, Hinata dared to relax.

For the first time in years, Hinata dared to feel like she was safe.

She smiled as she looked at Naruto, who was babbling something about seals that Hinata couldn't make head or tails of and just nodded politely when he asked if she had understood.

Hyuuga Hinata still didn't know what to think anymore.

Good thing that no one needed to think all that much to fall in love.

* * *

If you like the story or want to comment anything, **please review!** Thank you, lads.


	8. Chapter 8 — Berserker

**Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue; I do not own, so please don't sue.**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight  
** **Berserker**

"Just a little bit more," I said, finishing the last swirl of the Storage Seal on Hinata's wrist. "There. We're done, Hinata-chan."

I, Hinata, and Sasuke were waiting outside the Konoha's gates for Kakashi and Tazuna. They had asked me about why I wasn't carrying a backpack and, as I explained about Storage Seals, I had the idea of writing one on their wrists.

Sasuke had already stored his items on his by the time I finished hers.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun," Hinata gave my leg a grateful squeeze and we got back to our feet. "So, I just need to think about what I want to summon and it will appear?"

I nodded and she held her wrist up, studying the intricate design with a smile as, before her eyes, the swirls and symbols moved and condensed into a single kanji for " _store"._ She made a cute sound of surprise.

"Impressive!"

"He is an Uzumaki, Hinata-chan" we turned to see Kakashi coming from the gates, with Tazuna lumbering by his side. "It's in his blood. He could've been half dead on the ground and still be able to make something like that."

I ignored him and put the sealing ink and brush back to my pocket,

Kakashi circled me with a raised eyebrow, taking note of my posture and the look I had on my face. "And if you ask me, he kind of is dead on his feet. Did you sleep last night?"

"Just a bit," I lied.

"A bit, he says," I heard Sasuke scoffing on the rock he was sitting. "I went to his house in the morning to meet him and he looked like he had been put in an IV of caffeine, to say the least."

I rolled my eyes and turned to the road, but Kakashi held my arm.

"Are you sure you don't need to sleep?"

"I am fine," I said with a fake smile. "Uzumaki stamina, I can keep going for days at no end."

"Sure you can," Kakashi looked at me, serious, for a few seconds more. He then turned for the rest of the team just as Hinata had stored her supplies. "Before we go, I need to check up if you all did bring the things we need. Take this as a surprise test. Sasuke?"

"I have two standard packs of kunais and shurikens, a bunch of ninja wires, exploding tags, a barrack for one and the regulation kit to survive in the wilderness," he counted on his fingers, then tilted his head to the side and gave me a look. "Also, Naruto gave me something he said would be useful. From someone called Anko."

Kakashi planted his face firmly on his palm.

"Did he, now?" he turned to me. "From Anko, Naruto? _Really?_ "

I shrugged. "Anko-chan can make useful things."

"Your Anko-chan eats the souls of the damned for breakfast," Kakashi said under his breath and shook his head, turning to Hinata. "You? I need a measure of sanity here, please."

Hinata put a finger under her lower lip. "The same things that Sasuke-kun brought plus my homemade ointment," she fidgeted a bit. "Could be useful, I think. It's not all that much, but useful."

"Sure it is," Kakashi gave her a thumbs up. "I will regret this, but—"

"Two-hundred kunais, three-hundred shurikens, ten Smokescreen Tags, fifty Exploding Tags, thirty of them directional and full of steel bearings, three remote detonators, a roll of ninja wire, a length of barbed wire, a bunch of knives, that interrogation kit Ibiki gives to everyone who looks at him funny," I listed and then, as an afterthought, I completed. "Also, three Doomballs."

Everyone looked at me with varying levels of disbelief and shock. Sure, it looked a bit much, but come on—I spent the last night creating these seals just to be sure that I would be ready for anything. Literally anything.

" _Doomballs_?" Kakashi finally asked. "What the hell is a Doomball?"

"Three hundred supercharged Exploding Tags glued with a bunch of Storage Seals, which are holding a kilogram of rusty nails and metal pellets. The seals are linked together to function almost in unison when the chakra combination activates it, with a space of zero point three seconds between the release of the Storage Seals and the explosion," I explained.

They still had that dumbfounded look in his eyes, like I had been speaking in a language they didn't know. I sighed and gestured exuberantly. "A ball of paper. You put chakra. It goes _kaboom_. Big explosion. Things die. Naruto happy."

They took a collective step away from me.

 **"I want you so much now,"** Natsumi declared.

Tazuna coughed. "Now that the blonde psychopath is ready to the mission and, it seems, ready to take down a country while he is at it, can we get going? I want to reach the boat before the night."

"Sure," Kakashi said, still giving me a last cautious look before he turned to the road and made a gesture for us to follow him. "Onward, my cute little minions."

As we walked at a civilian pace, Sasuke approached me and elbowed my ribs to draw my attention. "Were you talking seriously? About that… that Doomball thing?"

"Of course," I raised an eyebrow. "Why? Are you scared?"

"Fuck no," Sasuke said and I stopped to look at him. He seemed to have activated the Sharingan instinctively and, even then, it had nothing to do with the vicious glint in his eyes and the eagerness in his voice. This time, _I_ took a step away from him. "I want some of that."

* * *

The road to the border of the Land of Fire was kind of peaceful. It was a good day, just warm enough to make someone feel good as the sun shone above us. Sasuke and Hinata were gobsmacked, of course—they had never left Konohagakure before that day, and everything even slightly different on our way made them awestruck.

I wasn't. I was simmering, like a pan put in a low fire—thinking about the mission. About that billionaire and his activities. Natsumi, knowing my state, let me be in silence.

The first problem on the mission happened when we saw the puddle.

 _You noticed?_ I asked Kakashi in ANBU sign language.

 _Of course. Enemies?_

 _Two inside. Kill?_

 _Wait._ Kakashi ordered and went back to make small talk to Tazuna. Sasuke and Hinata looked at us—Kakashi had drilled them into these signals on the course of their apprenticeship and they knew what it meant, but did their best to act like nothing was wrong.

At least until the enemies appeared.

"Get away!" Kakashi shouted, shoving Tazuna away just as a barbed chain wrapped around his body. The two cloaked men who jumped out of the puddle pulled the chain and, with an ease that bellied the sharpness of it, cut Kakashi in three pieces.

Sensei deserved a prize for his acting.

"One down!" the taller one yelled, turning to Tazuna and pulling back the chain. The team was fast to act, Hinata jumping in the front of Tazuna to protect him, her eyes hardened and she already fell into a Gentle Fist stance. Sasuke took a kunai from his pocket. "Now the bridge builder!"

Sasuke's eyes met mine and I nodded.

We acted before they could attack. With the enhanced precision that only a Sharingan could give him, Sasuke nailed their chain down and jumped against the smaller dude, meeting him with a kick in the gut. I sprung in the direction of the other and ducked under the swing of his gauntlet.

I caught the chain and the heat of my hand melted the metal, then I swung it and threw the dude against the bark of a tree five, ten meters away from us.

He slammed his back with a pained yell and I was all over him before he could even raise his guard. I punched his ribs repeatedly against the three, making the thing shake with the strength of my attack. I kicked his inner thigh and he fell to a knee, then to the ground as my right hook slammed on his temple—causing a concussion, probably.

"Tell the devil I will be sending many more," I whispered in his ear as I put a knee on his back and wrapped my hands around his head. I broke his neck with a sharp twist and he stopped moving instantly.

"Brother!" I turned to see who was shouting and saw Sasuke on his feet, his enemy having a clearly broken leg and tied with ninja wire to the ground. I gave him a thumbs up as the man on the ground shouted. "You killed my brother! I will fucking kill you!"

"You will do no such thing," Kakashi walked slowly to us, giving the tied enemy a stone-cold stare. Tazuna was bewildered for seeing him alive, at least until Hinata poked his side and pointed to the remains of a log on the ground. "Matter of factly, you will be silent now," Kakashi ordered and kicked the ninja's head.

When our sensei turned to Tazuna, I almost felt sorry for him.

"I let them attack to see whoever they were targeting, Tazuna-san, and it seems their target was you," Kakashi declared as Tazuna became paler and paler. "If we hadn't been briefed before about the current state of the Land of Waves, I would take this as you endangering my team. An offense I take very, very personally."

I couldn't fault Tazuna for shivering, Kakashi was inches from his face and I seldom saw him _that_ angry. For such a laid back individual, sensei could be scary as fuck when he wanted to.

"You will tell us everything. With your words," He glared at Tazuna. When he didn't answer, Kakashi punched the tree next to him and broke it in two. "Now!"

A vein pulsed on Tazuna's forehead as he heard Kakashi's order. He took his time, rummaged on his backpack and took a bottle of sake, then walked to a rock and sat here. I leaned on a tree, arms crossed, as he took a gulp and gave each one of us a hard look.

"I am not from the Land of Waves originally, Hatake," Tazuna tiredly rubbed his eyes. "My dad came from Kirigakure a whole lotta' of years ago. He was a hard man, my dad, a man I wanted to be an equal—a good architect. Then, a day, he went to his work in the ninja Academy. _Just_ after the graduation ceremony. You lot know about that, don't you?"

Everyone knew. They Bloody Mist had a reputation and it wasn't for nothing—their graduation is a ceremony where they prepared you for ninja life with the single _biggest_ lesson anyone could teach a young shinobi. The lesson that someone needed to understand to be a ninja, at least as they though on their fucked up head.

Never trust someone. Not even your comrades.

For the first time, I was glad for Konoha's focus on teamwork. That kind of shit would never happen in my home. I saw Hinata looking away with a troubled look on her face and Sasuke balling his hands into fists.

"Dad went to the Academy and there was this thing all around. Blood. Blood of children, young enough to be his own, splattered on the floor and walls and goddamn everywhere. Dad talked to the man in charge, said he couldn't work in a place like that. The man turned to him," Tazuna took a long swing of his cheap sake and shook his head. "I will never forget the look on dad's face when he told me the story. The man smiled and said— _relax, it's nothing, after they finish it, it will be pristine. Like nothing had happened at all. All a day's work_."

Tazuna got up and began pacing around. "All a fuckin' day's work. These words broke dad. They were children, for crying out loud, how the fuck could they just clean that and forgot about it? Like it had never even happened?" he asked. Don't know if he was asking us, though. "So dad's got the hell out there to a place that doesn't reek of blood and where lives had at least some meaning."

Tazuna scoffed. "Didn't work all that much for me."

He swung his bottle around. "So I had my family, my wife—who is watching me from the heavens now. All was nice. Until that bastard Gatou came, bringing with him all dad had run from. Death, pain, misery. I looked at it. I looked at my people suffering, and something snapped on me too. Like dad."

Kakashi rubbed his chin. "The Hokage didn't say good things about Gatou."

"Not good things, indeed. After all that, I find that I can do something. I can build a bridge. I can break his chokehold on us. Looking deep inside me—I am not a great man. I am not a bloody hero. But I decided right here and now, I wouldn't abide by that," Tazuna had a steely look on his eyes for the first time since I knew him. And I knew that look. He was a man on a mission he didn't expect to be alive to see the end. "So, Hatake Kakashi, if I have to lie, to do anything to finish this fucking bridge? I will do it. And don't you fucking dare judging me for doing that."

He hung his head low with no more wind under his sails. "I am tired of just washing the blood away and lying to myself that it will not matter after all of it was gone. That nothing would change," he threw his bottle away. "That life meant nothing."

Nobody dared to say anything. Deep inside me, I felt an ember, a spark, of respect for Tazuna—he saw something wrong and did his level best to work to make it better. I could understand that, hell, I could even respect that.

"I see," Kakashi paced around Tazuna, measuring him up and down with his eyes, then turned back to us. "Get up. We need to get to the border before the sun is set down."

Tazuna snapped his head up. "What? Are you still going to do it?"

"Of course we are. The Hokage briefed us on the situation _before_ we got out of Konoha, and we have a mission to do," Kakashi said and crossed his arms. "Do you really think you could lie to a shinobi, Tazuna?"

"No, probably not," Tazuna chuckled, a hollow sound before he turned to the man on the ground who began waking up. "What are you doing with him? We can't let him go back and give his report to Gato."

Kakashi shook his head. "We can't. What I am going to do, Tazuna, is making he say everything I want to know. After that, I will be sure that he isn't going back to Gatou."

"Are you going to—"

"Don't ask what you don't want to know," Kakashi warned him, walking back to our prisoner and hoisting him up to his shoulder. "Sasuke, Hinata, I want you to make sure that Tazuna is fine. Take your time to drink some water and eat some rations, you have thirty minutes."

My teammates did as they were ordered and Kakashi looked at me.

"You saw exactly what I did on the file, didn't you?"

"Yes," I sustained his stare and clenched my jaw. "I did."

"Good," Kakashi said, walking away and making a gesture for me to follow him. I felt that familiar anger inside of me again, yearning for me to exact my pound of flesh of that men. _He is working with them,_ I said to myself, _he has information about them._ "You can help me with his interrogatory, then."

Kakashi knew better than anyone how I felt.

The man heard it and went pale as chalk. He told everything we wanted to know about Gatou and his business long, long, before we began to really work on him.

Then he just screamed.

* * *

When we finally reached the border of the Land of Fire, Tazuna guided us to the harbor he used to come here from the Land of the Waves. It was an enormous place, full of containers and bustling with the sounds of the longshoremen working—the perfect place to be when you wanted no one to take notice of you.

"Let me do the talking, my friend is waiting for us here," Tazuna hurried us through the maze of containers until we caught to a blonde man. For the first time, I saw Tazuna honestly smiling. "Shiro! How are you doing, my man?"

The man, Shiro, smiled to Tazuna and pulled him into a brotherly hug. He had sweat on his forehead and, even as he smiled, he was looking at all sides nervously. "Tazuna, the boat is prepared but we need to go _now._ Follow me."

Shiro guided us back to the harbor, next to the water.

I couldn't tell what exactly had been wrong, but I was nervous. I was _alert._ Something on Shiro told me that he was hiding something and, if there's something I hate, it's secrets.

I studied the place we were, two long corridors between the containers and the open view to the ocean, boxes of metal all around us from both sides.

"Shiro, where's the boat?" Tazuna asked him as the man took a step back, his smile now strained as his eyes were still flying from direction to direction. "Shiro? You said the boat was prepared. Where it is?"

It suddenly made sense to me.

We were into a chokepoint—a fucking kill zone.

"Naruto!" Kakashi yelled and his hand shot to catch the arrow going from my head. "We were betrayed! Get away from here!"

Hinata, Byakugan activated, deflected the other arrows and Kakashi shoved us in the direction of the next container. Then he flew through hand signs, then slammed his hands on the ground and a wall of earth and stone was erected around us.

We knew it wouldn't hold. That hit had been _planned._

Shiro was here with us, as Sasuke had shoved him inside. Kakashi caught him by the neck and his voice just sounded _lethal,_ then. "Are you working for Gato? You will tell us _now_ if you don't want to suffer a long, painful death."

Just as he was beginning to answer, we heard a voice sounding over all the harbor. Probably the loudspeaker system. _"We have you surrounded! We have two boats closing the exit to the ocean and our men are on the tower aiming two kunai launchers to your direction! We have men with bows and arrows! There are Exploding Tags on the kunais! Get away from the walls with your hands raised!"_

"Fuck!" Sasuke cursed and punched the container, denting the metal. "Kakashi, what the hell we are going to do? We are surrounded here."

Kakashi punched Shiro in the gut, his hand brushing a second or two more than the enough on his chest, and let him drop to the ground. "Let me think," he said, turning to me. "I want an assessment of whoever is here. Now."

I closed my eyes and focused on my senses, on their scent, the sound they were making and the heat of their bodies. "Shit. There are twenty men on that tower overseeing the harbor and at least a hundred on the ground, fifty on the other side. Two boats crewed fully."

"I can see the kunai launchers too, in the towers and the boats, "Hinata said, her eyes wide. "They are pointed right at us. They aren't joking here, sensei."

I turned to Tazuna. " _Let us meet a friend,_ " I mocked him. "He will take us away from here," I picked Shiro, who probably had some ribs broken by Kakashi's punch, and held him against the stone wall. "Why the fuck did you do that?"

"I have a family," he gasped, his voice sounding raspy as he coughed with every breath. "Gatou… threatened me. Said I needed to help him catch you. Promised me money," he turned to Tazuna. "Do you remember how the situation in the Wave is? We _don't_ have money, Tazuna! You need to understand me. Please!"

Tazuna glared at him, anger and sadness in his eyes.

"We don't have money, Shiro," he said, slowly, "but I wouldn't betray a friend. All we have is our dignity."

"Dignity?" Shiro tried to laugh, probably, but it devolved into a fit of coughing. "Dignity is nothing if there isn't bread on the table, Tazuna, dignity is—"

I punched him in the face.

"Something you don't have," I spat, turning back to my teammates. Sasuke was sitting on the ground, his hands on his face, and Kakashi had his eyes closed, deep in thought, with his hands moving in the ANBU sign language—the language all of us understood. Hinata had a worried expression on her face as she rubbed her hands together. "What we do now?"

Sasuke took the lead. "We plan. And I think I have one."

The effect was instantaneous. Kakashi's eyes snapped open we huddled together, talking with muffled voices as Kakashi took our ideas and, with the experience that only a ninja of his caliber could have, ironed them into the terms of plausible, if risky, plan. It wasn't much, but it was enough for us.

 _"You have one minute!"_ the amplified voice sounded again, a barrage of kunais slamming on the wall as a threat. _"Counting from now! Get out of there with your hands behind your heads!"_

Kakashi took a deep breath. "Shiro, do you know something about poisons?"

Shiro, still nursing his cheek, looked up to Kakashi, like he hadn't understood what we were talking about. I made a small gesture to Sasuke and he passed two syringes to me behind my back.

"Poisons are funny things. There is always something new. Our buddy here, Naruto," he gestured to me, "has a friend in our village who is quite the specialist. Anko, her name is, and she is always happy in letting him try the different poisons she comes with," Kakashi talked as I surreptitiously brushed my hand on the container next to us to melt an opening on it.

"There's one, particularly, who is very, very expensive. Made from a rare snake, with a bunch of alterations made to it with chakra. I don't know exactly how, but I know enough."

Kakashi gave him a look. "It's said that a drop of it can eat through the flesh of a man, turning the meat into a deadly mist who can poison everyone around him in less than ten seconds. She gave some of it to her buddy Naruto, here."

 _"Thirty seconds!"_ The voice sounded again.

"So, Shiro, if one drop can do that… can you imagine what three syringes can do?" Kakashi said, making a gesture to me.

"You'll see." I snarled, then sprung into Shiro's direction and slammed all three syringes in his belly, injecting him with the venom and making his eyes bulge on their sockets. Then I slapped my hand on his back, still holding him.

"Shiro!" Tazuna shouted.

"You shouldn't have betrayed us," I whispered on his ear, then picked him by his leg and, with a mighty swing, threw him on the general direction of the tower overseeing us like a rocket shooting through the sky. Then I turned to Kakashi. "Do you think it worked?"

"Dunno," he answered, ushering Hinata and Tazuna inside the container. Hinata's job was to be the last line of defense, as she couldn't do anything on long distance fights. Yet. She hesitated a bit and turned to me.

"Don't die," she whispered, kissing my cheek and dragging Tazuna inside by his hand. I put my hand over the place she kissed and smiled. It's kind of nice to see that good things could happen even in the shittiest of the situations.

 _"Ten seconds!"_

"What was that venom, really?"

"Just a flesh decomposing one, but I put Smokescreen Tags on Shiro's back. It will distract the dudes from the tower enough," I said, grinning. "They shouldn't have put a communicator on him, these fools."

"Boys, attention," Kakashi called us. "Sasuke, I need you to keep them away from the corridor on our left. Naruto will take care of our right and the tower, and I am going for the boats. Are you two ready?"

I looked at Sasuke, who mimicked the grin I had on my face.

 _"I was born ready,"_ we said in unison.

 _"Five seconds!"_

Kakashi made a bunch of hand signs again.

 _"One second!"_

"Go!" Kakashi yelled and we blurred into movement as. He slammed his hand to the ground and made the wall broke into pieces who shoot into the boats, stakes of stone and earth going against metal. Sasuke made his own hand signs and spat a ball of fire to our right, keeping the enemies away.

I went to the left.

" _Burn!"_ I screamed, focusing all the power I had in a simply _enormous_ wall of white-hot fire that slammed on everything before me, so powerful that it looked like it was solid. The men had no chance to save themselves—the fire spread before me like the wave caused by a pebble, encompassing an area many, many times wider than the small corridor between containers. " _Burn,_ you fuckers!"

The aroma of burned meat assaulted my nose as I fell to a knee.

 **"Are you alright?"** Natsumi asked.

"Yeah, I think," I answered, panting. That level of destruction and control wasn't something I was accustomed to—everywhere I could see, everything was blackened by the heat of burning. I turned to look over my shoulder to see Sasuke spitting fireball after fireball followed by kunais, shurikens and everything he could imagine stopping the men in their tracks. Kakashi dodged the attacks coming from the boat, he himself standing on the water, then slammed his hands down it.

Twin, simply enormous, dragons rose from the water—so big that the water level receded and made the boats shake and lose their aim. The dragons loomed above them, each one of them many times bigger than any boat. Both of them obeying Kakashi's orders.

"Need to finish here," I muttered to myself and went back to my feet.

I shook my head and went to the nearest container, a Doomball popping from my seal with a bunch of smoke. "Fuck them," I cursed, then opened the door of the containers and threw the Doomball inside. "Ambush me, will you? You see. Bloody wankers," I closed the door and squatted, putting my hands under it.

An ordinary container, empty, weights more than twenty tons.

I pumped my chakra in each cell, each particle, of my body. The ground under me cracked as I began lifting that behemoth, inch by inch, as my muscles strained and veins bulged like steel cables under my skin. The metal groaned and twisted under my grip.

Chains shoot from my back and encircled the container, spreading the pressure I was making all around it as I lifted that thing. I growled in effort, but inch by fucking inch, it rose from the ground.

Inch. By. Inch.

When it was almost on the vertical, my hands denting the metal, I focused my chakra. All of it I could muster. All of it I still had after I burned half the harbor. I focused the chakra and enhanced my strength to a level I had never reached before, a level that I wasn't ready for and, yet, I needed to reach for my friends here.

An empty container weighs more than twenty tons.

And I threw one on the tower.

The Doomball inside the container, though, was the best part.

"Get the fuck down Sasuke!" I screamed as the container shoot above him. Even Kakashi, still standing on the ocean as his water dragons ripped the boat apart, watched in awe. Hinata and Tazuna poked her eyes out of their container to look at that thing. Almost two thousand kilograms of metal with enough explosives inside to level a village block sailing through the sky like it weighted nothing.

We were all disabused of this notion as it impacted the tower and exploded.

 **"I think I love you,"** Natsumi said in a shocked voice.

The container broke through the stone and metal from the tower and exploded in a blinding flash of white and the rumble of a thunder. A crater was opened on the ground, simply enormous, and everything was thrown back—I, myself, only remaining still as my fingers gouged trenched on the ground, the sheer impact making my cheeks undulate.

Sasuke had braced himself behind a container and Hinata and Tazuna were throw just some meters back, still inside on their own. I went back to my feet, still looking at the sheer destruction as stone fell from above and smoke painted the sky black.

"I want some of that," Sasuke appeared right next to me and shook me by the collar of my shirt, madness all over his eyes and almost frothing from the mouth. "You need to give that to me! I will love you forever if you give me one, I swear."

I looked at him, dumbfounded, then heard Kakashi whistling.

I shoved the rabid Sasuke away from me, laughing, and turned back to look at the team. We were unwounded, the worse being Tazuna's head when it was slammed on the metal by the force of the explosion.

When we came next to Kakashi, he had a proud look on his face. It was subtle, but it was here—you just needed to know him to see. We were taken by surprise with an ambush. We managed to win despite that and he was grateful for it.

Good man.

"Naruto, if you please?"

"Sure," I said, taking a deep breath and stepping on the water, who held under me like it was solid ground. I sat here, cross-legged, and dipped on my chakra reserves from the third time that day.

Around me, dark-crimson matter—Adamantine—began appearing. First just a sheet under me, then it thickened and formed into a shape, a shape that everyone would recognize. I poured my concentration, my power, and all my will on it, and didn't stop until I was sweating all over and pale as a corpse.

And I was doing that on a little boat made of Adamantine.

A boat I created only with my _yang_ chakra and resolve.

I got back to my position and sat here, looking at my friends jumping inside it while Kakashi helped Tazuna get inside. I closed my eyes to relax, but didn't take notice of Tazuna, who shook Kakashi off, walked right into my direction and shoved me to the ground while I was distracted.

"You didn't need to kill him!" he yelled, his face blotchy and red with tears of anger in his eyes. "Shiro was a good man! He just wanted to make his family safe and he said he wouldn't hurt us! You didn't need to kill him like that, like, like a _pig_ going to the slaughter, you didn't need to—"

I had enough.

I was fucking exhausted, I hadn't had any sleep since the day before, I threw a whole container on a tower and, above all that, I was completely and absolutely _livid_ with anger about these coward motherfuckers who tried to do us in.

"Fuck you!" I shouted and made a gesture at him. Chains shoot from the Adamantine boat under us and constrained his legs, arms, and torso, pulling him to the ground. I got up to my feet and walked to his direction. "Do you think I care about that bastard, Shiro? You say you would do anything to save your home, Tazuna, but I will do _everything_ I can to protect my family!"

I looked right at his eyes, my voice now low and threatening. "Shiro betrayed us. He tried to hurt my team, he tried to fuck with us, and he helped _them_. He dies," my face was almost touching his. "Everyone who tries to hurt my team dies. Everyone who did anything to help Gatou dies. Everyone working for him dies. Everyone who hurt _her_ dies _!_ "

I didn't know when I began shouting. I shoved Tazuna away from me and put my hands on my hair, taking a deep breath trying to calm myself and almost panting after my outburst.

"Everyone who hurt _her?_ " Hinata asked in a quiet voice.

I turned to Hinata. "Do you remember that story I told you in the Hokage's office?" she nodded in agreement. "The place I and Kakashi took down was just an outpost, an outpost to send these girls to the _Land of Waves._ I hadn't paid attention to that, but now, now I see. It was for _Gatou,_ " I held my wrist up with the familiar braid here. "She died because of him, Hinata-chan, _Kasumi_ died because of him. For that, I will kill _every single one_ of them."

"Kasumi?" Tazuna asked, looking at each one of us with confusion, shame and a little, always persistent, bit of anger still on his face. "Who is—"

"You don't speak her name!" I roared and jumped in his direction, fully intent on smashing him into pieces as the boat shook and twisted under me—at least until Kakashi appeared between us. I looked at Tazuna, who was being dragged by the back by Sasuke, my canines bared and my eyes widened as I tried to shove Kakashi out of the way. "You aren't _worthy_ of speaking her name! You aren't—you can't say her name!"

"Naruto, sit," Kakashi ordered. "Now!"

I looked at him and took notice of his expression. Not anger, no, he couldn't feel angry to me even if he wanted, not about that. Kakashi felt sadness, the same sadness my teammates had on their own expression, and that was just enough to shake me out of my instincts of hurting Tazuna for _daring_ to speak that name to me.

For them.

I fell on my butt, taking a deep breath to center myself.

"What the fuck—" Tazuna began saying.

"Tazuna-san," I heard Hinata's voice, low as mine and with an undercurrent of sheer resolve. "I can see inside you. I can see your chakra points, I can see all of that with my Byakugan. My spirit weeps for what you have gone through, but do not mistake me."

Her voice turned to an edge of steel. Hinata couldn't be forceful like that by herself, I noticed, but for me? She would. This realization hit me like a punch in the face. For me? For me, she would _kill._

"If you don't stop speaking now, I will use every shred of knowledge I have to make sure you can't speak anymore. Please, be quiet."

Tazuna obeyed her.

I looked at my teammates and tried to appear alright, to smile. By the look on their faces, I only managed to make them feel sorry for me. I hated it.

"I am fucking tired. If someone can give me food, then by all means—I need it now," I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "Pretty please?"

Hinata was fast to comply and took off a bento from her seal.

"That's marvelous, Naruto-kun!" she changed the subject, looking to the boat with amazement—even if her expression was slightly strained as she put a hand on my forehead. "But… you said to us, before, that Adamantine doesn't last long when it doesn't touch your body or you aren't focused on it."

I nodded in agreement.

"Then, how are you going to maintain it to the Land of the Waves?"

I took the bento in my hands, feeling my chakra already being drained by the construct. We needed to go to the Wave _faster as possible,_ and I ordered the boat to began moving in the direction I knew the Land of the Waves was. Moving by my willpower, only.

"Naruto?" She asked again, just as Sasuke sat by my side and offered me another bento, this one made by his mother. Kakashi had shoved Tazuna into a corner and sat with us, pausing on his way to reassuringly squeeze my shoulder before he took his book out of his pocket.

"I am Uzumaki, Hinata-chan," I gave her a strained smile and looked at the horizon. "I will do it like we do everything. By being the most stubborn bastards on the face of the Elemental Nations."

 _And because with my friends, there's nothing I can't do._

Didn't say it out loud, though. Not that it mattered.

They already knew.

* * *

Sasuke pushed me by the collar of my shirt. "For the life of my sister Naruto, I swear I will kill you if I hear something more about _ten little foxes_ going out!"

"It's for concentration, you wanker." I slapped his hands off me. "Try to maintain a fucking construct for one entire day and you tell me if you don't go a little mad."

"A little? A little?" Sasuke said with a strangled voice. "After a time you began talking to yourself about, and I quote, _thaumic variations and their benefits to icosahedral structures of seal-making!_ "

"I wasn't talking to myself, I was talking to Natsumi!"

Sasuke clapped, with a smile on his face so fake it _hurt_. "Excellent! You weren't just talking to yourself, you were talking to the all-powerful, murderous, psychopathic chakra being which you happens to have sealed inside you about the thing that holds her there. I am really relieved!"

"Watch it," I pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Nat isn't a _being_!"

" _That's_ your only bone to pick about what he said?" Tazuna said and shook his head in disbelief.

" _You shut the fuck up, Tazuna_!" I and Sasuke shouted in unison at him.

Hinata and Kakashi shared a look and wisely stepped away from us, both ignoring our bickering as we keep our pace in direction of Tazuna's house. All of us were really, really, tired of being in the woods already.

After the ambush in the harbor, it had taken the rest of the day and the night for us to sail to the mainland. Which, by the way, counted as one more day without sleeping for me.

On the way, we finally caught a glimpse of the bridge Tazuna was yapping about. It was, frankly, a monstrosity made of concrete and steel. Big enough for three horse carts pass side by side and unbelievingly tall. Ugly as hell, too.

Guess hope could come in all ways.

A day after, I and my team walked in the wilderness next to the village that Tazuna came from. I felt nervous, thinking about the fact that the enemies we meet before were just chunin level and nowhere near the manpower that Gatou could bring with his wealth.

The ambush on the harbor only made it worse. We came the fastest I could make the boat go, but even then, no one could be certain that they hadn't tracked us and sent Gatou's a notice about our coming. To top it all, my chakra reserve took a good beating from sustaining the boat all the night.

"Sasuke," I called him. He took a look at my face and nudged Hinata to look at the number of fingers I was showing with my hands. "Enemies."

I caught the scent. Then I heard the heartbeats.

Ten of them.

We were in a clearing, next to a river or something, maybe a little stream coming from the ocean—I wasn't, and still doesn't am, big on geography. But I knew we would have to fight there.

One was upwind, so I couldn't smell him, six of these enemies huddled together and smelling of booze—thugs and foot soldiers. The other four were another story—the two oldest had the scent of old blood and sweat, like seasoned warriors.

I tugged Kakashi's shirt. "Ten. Four dangerous."

That was all I could say before _that._

"Everyone down!" Kakashi yelled and pushed Tazuna with him to the ground. We all followed him as the thing flew past our heads like a chainsaw, cutting everything in the way without slowing.

That weapon—a fucking giant sword—stopped just as it buried itself in a tree and someone jumped on the top of the blade. The man had bandages covering his chin and neck and wore a hitai-ate with the symbol of Kirigakure, the metal crossed, in a diagonal over his head.

The sword was legendary enough in its own right.

The Demon of the Mist, Momochi Zabuza. Shit.

The other two, though, surprised me. The older one appeared from behind the trees, a thin man with a mane of wild hair and a mask. The blade he had with him was, too, the matter of legends—the Nuibari, a weapon similar to a giant needle that was glinting dangerously on the sunlight.

The third dude was younger, a burly teenager with black hair and a katana that I didn't recognize. He was physically intimidating, but I knew better—he was nothing compared with these two.

Kakashi stood up and noticed him, "Momochi Zabuza and Kushimaru Kuriarare, ex-members of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shu and both rogues. What you're doing here?"

Kushimaru crossed his arms and pointed his head at the young fellow. "Ignoring my apprentice, our little Kato, here? Not nice. Not nice at all."

Wait, if there's only three of them here—

"If it isn't Sharingan no Kakashi!" Zabuza shouted, completely ignoring Kushimaru and then laughing uproariously. "To answer the question, I'm contracted to kill that old man here, with these two as a backup. If you can be kind and step aside…"

"No can do," Kakashi sensei said, assuming a taijutsu position and barking orders to us. "Manji position! Now! There's another ten back here and we don't know their level!"

The training that we endured the past months held true and we assumed our designated position almost by instinct.

"How quaint. Three little kids for backup and you still think that you can knock us down, Kakashi?" Kushimaru mocked. "I will let Zabuza have you by himself, not even worth a good cross."

"Don't underestimate my team, Kuriarare," Kakashi raised his hitai-ate of his Sharingan and picked a kunai of his pouch. "You would be surprised."

"Let me show you three what a real fight is, then!" Zabuza shouted, jumping out of the three and making a hand sign mid-air. "Kirigakure no Jutsu!"

Mist appeared all over the battlefield, obscuring the vision and making almost impossible to discern anything inside it. I had heard about it, the famed silent killing technique, and the next step was… _that_.

A monstrous amount of Killer Instinct unleashed against us, making the air heavy and suffocating.

"Eight points. Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart," said a disembodied voice in the mist. "Now which I should begin with?"

Shit.

"Sasuke! Hinata!" I heard Kakashi shouting and turned to my teammate, now pale and sweating. I caught Hinata's hand on mine as she showed the same signals. "Calm down! I will protect you with my life—all of you! I wouldn't allow my comrades to die!"

"I can't see with the Byakugan," Hinata frantically said with her Doujutsu activated. "The mist is full of chakra. I can't see them."

I closed my eyes, foregoing my vision to orient myself by my hearing and sense of smell. I could hear the hearts beating faster and faster in Sasuke's and Hinata's chest, the calmly beating of Kakashi's and Tazuna laborious breathing. Then Kato's adrenaline, Kushimaru blade whistling in the air...

 _There_. Zabuza's heartbeat.

"Kakashi-sensei! Left!" I took a bunch of Seeker Tags from the Storage Seal on my wrist and detonated them—they worked by letting out a burst of chakra and returning a _ping_ on each body encountered.

The side-effect?

They were excellent in displacing chakra on saturated ambients.

Kakashi hadn't waited for it. He pivoted to the side and the kunai in his hand was buried in the Zabuza's belly as he attacked. There was something wrong, though—there had been no blood. It didn't even smell.

 _Water_.

Water clone. Fuck.

"Everyone back the fuck down!" I shouted, jumping back and pushing Tazuna with me. The real Zabuza barreled out of somewhere, the giant cleaver in his hands in a deadly arc and bisecting Kakashi's in two.

"Sensei!" Sasuke yelled.

I began focusing on the well of chakra inside me, willing it to concentrate and grow. I didn't even know if it was really Kakashi, but I wouldn't be unprepared.

I was right. The real Kakashi jumped out of the earth and tried to stab the base of Zabuza's spine, which he parried with his sword.

No one should be this fast with a weapon like that.

Zabuza traded blows with Kakashi and our sensei gave as good as he got. A flurry of attacks, metal, and Taijutsu that almost, almost made me miss Kushimaru coming to help Zabuza as Kakashi managed to carve a gash on his thigh. Almost made me miss these ten thugs coming from the woods on our left and Kato running in our direction from the front.

"Protect Tazuna," I whispered to my teammates as Kakashi ducked under a thrown Nuibari and blocked Zabuza's kick aimed to his midsection. "I will deal with the apprentice. Go!"

I broke into a run to meet Kato on the battlefield. I could smell his bloodlust as he unsheathed his katana, the blade looking very, very sharp. I tried to summon anything against him. He was fast, though, and I was very tired.

They divided us, Kato coming against me with his sword poised to a blow from up down. I rolled to the side and summoned kunai after kunai from the seal on my wrist, not willing to pay the cost to use Adamantine. I hurled them all against him.

He parried all of them.

Then I made the error of looking back to my teammates and I felt more than saw the kick slamming on my chest, which made me roll back and crash into a tree.

I shook my head and, hearing his movement, crouched down as Kato, motherfucking Kato, cleaved the tree in two in a fell swoop. I couldn't see how my friends were going against their own enemies and, if I hesitated, I would lose a limb.

If I tried to overpower him with sheer firepower in these cramped space, I could end up wounding my own allies. Not Kakashi—these three were far from us and fighting close to a river faster than the naked eye could see, but Sasuke and Hinata.

I really, really needed to learn how to finely control my abilities.

"Let's get it on!" I shouted, feeling gleeful despite the situation. That feeling—the fight, the adrenaline, the delight of facing a worthy adversary, being nothing less than a drug for me. I smiled.

He came to me again and I parried the sword coming to my chest with a kunai of Adamantine. As the blades clashed, I unmade my own weapon and he stumbled due to the sudden lack of resistance.

"Got you!" I kicked his shin from under him. He stumbled to the ground but, before he could fully fall, I punched his back to the ground. He slammed there many times stronger than he would otherwise and I jumped on him, then buried a summoned kunai in the back of his head.

He exploded in water.

"Are we taking lessons from Zabuza now?" I asked Kato, who was coming from the back of a tree, with a raised eyebrow. I jumped back to my feet and began circling him

"Hey," he shrugged, "as long as it works."

I smirked and, as he sprung to attack me, a chain came from the ground and darted to his back. He turned faster than I expected to deflect it, but it gave me what I needed—a opening. Opening enough for me to punch him in the ribs with all my strength as he turned his back to me.

The sound of bones cracking and the body falling to the floor would make me happy, normally, but then I heard it. The scream. The scream of a voice I knew very, very well.

Hinata.

I almost snapped my neck turning to her direction and saw a scene that made my blood run cold. Kakashi had her on his arms and a large wound on his torso while Hinata had a gash opened on her back, from her shoulder to her hip.

Knocked out thugs were on the ground and Sasuke was lying on a knee, a whole lot of senbons littering his thigh. Nothing that would hurt him so badly, but enough to make him fall.

 _The fourth scent._

I looked at the scene. Kakashi still holding Hinata, Tazuna taking steps back, nervously. Sasuke with a fucked up leg. Kushimaru with almost half his body charred black by electricity and Zabuza with a weeping wound on the side of his belly, smiling despite all of it.

I discovered later that Sasuke and Hinata had ended the fight with the thugs and decided to try and help Kakashi, just for the holder of the fourth scent—the one in the trees—go and fuck the plan up.

Sasuke got down before he could provide cover fire, which gave Kushimaru—who was on the bad side of a fight with Sharingan no Kakashi after Zabuza was hurt—a opportunity to force Kakashi to protect Hinata and hurt him.

Kushimaru, who was by Zabuza's side and had his blade red with blood.

I could have protected her. I could have finished my fight faster.

But I didn't. She paid the price.

I felt something ugly twisting inside me.

 _Rage._

"You hurt Hinata," I muttered in a hollow voice, taking a step in their direction while my head throbbed. Steam came from my mouth. It's like I was looking to a photography—Hinata, her clothes stained red and her face grimacing in agony. Something I couldn't take my eyes off. "You hurt her. You made her feel pain. You..."

I barely even felt the katana going through my right thigh and making me fall to a knee. I could hear Kato panting behind me, his breathing labored because of his broken ribs.

I didn't react. I was on a world of my own.

I looked to where Kakashi was cradling Hinata on his arms. Brought to my knees, I extended a hand to them—my mouth opening and closing without making a sound. It was too much. Too much. Old wounds, old fears, all of it spinning around my mind and I simply _couldn't_ think. I couldn't do anything. I had failed again.

I put my hands over my eyes and grabbed tufts of my hair. I slammed my face on the ground as I shook my head trying to wipe these scene of my mind. "You hurt her," I heard myself whispering again and again with my voice muffled by the ground.

Something snapped inside me.

I turned my face to the sky and _screamed._

Chakra exploded out of me. Hotter than magma, hotter than anything. Molten steel coursing through my veins, shattering everything around me in pieces and ripping a trench in the ground between my team and the others. Chunks of earth were thrown into the air by tendrils of raging chakra and everything in my vicinity was reduced to ashes.

A crater appeared under me as I screamed my throat raw in pure, absolute, _agony_.

Because _she had been hurt._

 _Failure. Failed again. You can't save anyone. Failure. Failure._

Panting and trembling, I pointed a shaky finger to Kakashi as I tried to say something, but my mouth worked without a sound as I looked everywhere around me. I whimpered and fell to my hands, my fingers tearing shallow wounds on the earth as I finally managed to whisper something through the lump I felt in my throat.

Only one word came through, strangled, sounding like I was raking my voice through coals.

" _Run_."

I felt the metal of Kato's molten blade dripping down my leg.

 _Revenge. Always revenge. Make them pay._

 _That's all people like me are good for. Revenge._

Everything became a blur after that.

I remember myself turning to Kato faster than he could react. I grabbed him by his neck and began slamming him on the ground while shouting incoherently. He clawed at my arms and screamed in fright, his eyes wide, while I attacked him.

The ground under me cracked and flew back in chunks. I couldn't care less that he hadn't hurt Hinata directly himself nor that it had been only a shallow wound. I just didn't care.

 _People like me are only good for revenge._

I was tired and probably wouldn't have chakra to do anything big.

 _I didn't care._

I jumped on Kato and straddled his chest, steam coming from my mouth as I growled. I remember his hands slapping on my face and arms, aimlessly, and I forced my thumbs on his eye sockets as blood squirted. Centimeter by centimeter. Vitreous fluid flowed, _boiling,_ and he gurgled in his own blood. He shook and squirmed under me.

I pushed his head closer to mine and roared. Heat and flames coming from my open mouth in a tongue of fire that burned his face and charred the grass under us. I remember his flesh peeling back and exposing the white and the bone as I burned him alive. Death should have been a mercy.

Kushimaru, I remember clearly.

Him. The devil who had hurt her. My enemy. My prey.

My victim.

Zabuza was too busy tending to his wound to help him.

I remember myself exploding in movement in a furious dash of speed to meet Kushimaru. We fought in close combat like two madmen, his experience giving him the upper hand—all I had in me to balance the scales was that overwhelming feeling. That rage.

He cut my cheek to the bone and, with a maddened cackle, jumped back to pick the distance. Then he threw Nuibari in my direction. It made sharp angles in the air like the sword had a life of its own as Kushimaru controlled it by the rope around his wrist.

Then it pierced me through my stomach.

I feel to a knee, my eyes scrunched shut in anger and pain.

"You shall be my finest crucifixion" he shouted in glee.

I didn't answer, just held the thin rope connecting him to Nuibari and rolled it around my hands. Kushimaru tried to pull it back—I remember the rope cutting my skin with the strength he put on his movements, but I didn't let it go.

I opened my eyes and, with a grunt, swung the rope. Kushimaru wasn't prepared to my strength— _how could he, when even I couldn't stop myself?_ His body flew through the air, crashing through trees and slamming on rocks while I spun the rope.

With a mighty heave, I pulled it back to me.

He shot to my direction faster than a stray kunai and I stopped him with a punch in the face. He made almost a full turn in the air and crashed on the ground, the impact breaking everything under him.

I remember that, by then, I heard a little voice in my head saying that it wouldn't have worked if Kakashi hadn't fried half of him already. That most of his nerves were destroyed and he couldn't feel that much pain anymore.

I didn't care.

"Who— _what_ are you?" he whispered through his broken lips.

I pounced on him. His mask had been broken, his eyes were open wide with fear and his breathing was labored. I punched him, many, many times, hard enough to break the mask and his face more. I punched him more times than I could count. Punch after punch after punch as bloody sprayed on me and he was reduced to a pulp.

I screamed in rage all the while.

"You hurt her," I felt his cheekbone giving in. "You hurt her. Her!" his ribs, cracked, one by one. I pulverized the infraorbital bone and his exposed eye exploded out of the socket, his tongue lolled out of his mouth as his shattered jaw couldn't hold it closed. I pushed his face against mine and headbutted his nose, splitting the cartilage and looking right into his eyes, each breath coming out of me as a cloud of steam.

"You hurt _my_ Hinata!"

Blood was dripping from my hands and splattered all over his head—if that could be called a head anymore. I got to my feet and put a boot on his chest, then pulled his sword out of my belly with a squelching sound. Kushimaru raised his hands in defense. Maybe a pledge for mercy, even.

I stabbed him through his open mouth.

"You hurt my Hinata!" I shouted again, pulled the blade, and brought it down. Down, down, and down. One time after another. Nuibari sliced through him. Through what remained on his face and blood and the pieces of his cranium who weren't already splattered around us poured off him with each attack.

"You hurt her! My Hinata! Die! Fucking _die!_ "

Nuibari blurred on the air, again and again.

With a roar, I brought the sword down for the last time while the metal dripped from where it had been melting under my hands. It was strong enough to bury the sword in the ground almost to its handle and make me fall on a knee. I twisted it and took it out slowly, my face close to the ruined mess of Kushimaru's head, almost touching him.

I made a primal scream and began punching him again. I never knew how many times I brought my fists down in that ruined mess that had been a ninja, but I only stopped when the only thing I feel under my hands was the ground being crushed.

The memories about Zabuza became barely a haze after that.

"You," I fixated a glare on Zabuza, who had finished dressing his wound and was holding Kubikiribocho over his shoulder in the middle of the lake. I felt the metallic scent of blood on my mouth. "You helped."

"The fuck you are talking?"

"You helped him," I growled and, with a first step that broke the ground, ran to his direction. I remember the water boiling under me, I remember his expression of shock and then, sheer defiance.

Zabuza sent clones in my direction. I didn't dodge any of their attacks, I didn't even bother to defend myself—I just ripped them apart, water turning to steam before they could even touch me.

I felt prickles on my back and turned to see a masked hunter-nin throwing senbons at my body. Like these things could stop me. I held my open palm to where it came and blasted a cone of fire many times larger than a house in that direction.

The forest did not just burn where I attacked—it was reduced to ashes.

"No!" Zabuza shouted, his eyes wide and brimming with anger. He was tired—I could see that the bandages around his midsection were stained with blood and he was panting and sweating. The blade was still steady on his hands just by the virtue his experience as a swordsman.

His eyes were glinting with hate as he looked at me.

"You fucking psychopath," I heard the real Zabuza muttering as he flew through hand signs and slammed his hands into the surface of the river. Like something enormous was moving under us, the water receded and coalesced into a shape I knew very well.

 _Suiryuudan._

The dragon rose from the river before me and I jumped on his direction, my hand trembling and the water around me evaporating as I focused and concentrated all my power, all my chakra, on a single punch—the punch I unleashed against the dragon as he came down on me.

The sound of the explosion was deafening.

The river was carved in two by the strength of the clash between my fist and the dragon, the riverbed being exposed as the water was blown from under me for dozens and dozens of meters.

Heat and water and kinetic energy were mixed in a deadly cocktail and detonated with the power of a thousand Exploding Tags, the steam caused by it coating half the forest in a thick layer of mist. I was thrown back, flying through the air until I met the ground and carved a trench on it with my own body, coming to a stop as my back slammed into a rock.

I had open wounds all over my body and half my internal organs had been ripped a time or two in these fights—but I couldn't stop. Not until all of them were _dead_. They _needed_ to die.

They had dared to touch her.

"Zabuza!" I screamed as I shook my head and went back to my feet, trying to find him by his scent. Useless, I knew—he and his helper had already used the opportunity to get away from us, but I was too angry to just give up. "Zabuza! Come back here!"

Just as I prepared myself to ran after him, I felt someone holding my arm with a vice grip. I turned back, ready to hurt whoever did that, just to see Kakashi—which wound, thankfully, wasn't bleeding anymore. He was panting and looking right at my eyes, the red of his Sharingan and the set of his jaw bellying the seriousness of his countenance.

"Let me go," I growled, trying to push my arm off his hand. Adrenaline had already began to fade and I began feeling the exhaustion of three days going without sleep and using my chakra nonstop, but I couldn't stop. I didn't _want_ to stop. They had hurt Hinata. "I will kill them all. All of them! They hurt Hinata!"

"No. Not today," Kakashi shook his head. "The team comes first."

"What?"

He didn't answer with words, just pointed with his head to the side. Sasuke was there, looking like death warmed over, with his mouth open and helping an almost unconscious Tazuna to stay on his feet. Kakashi, himself, looked barely conscious—like he was clinging to a semblance of clarity by sheer willpower alone.

I saw that the land around us was riddled with craters, fire, and pools of boiling water as the mist dispelled. Broken trees littered the ground and blood was splattered everywhere, these then thugs the team had taken down now dead just because _they were near me._

And Hinata. Hinata.

"Naruto-kun!" I heard her coming in my direction and she slammed into my chest with a bear hug. "Please Naruto-kun, it's enough," Hinata whispered and I could feel her body shaking against mine. I could feel _her_. She was there with me.

"You are okay," I rubbed my hands through her hair, my eyes wide as I turned her to look at her wound. Kakashi had healed it. I looked at him and back to her, trying to believe it, then held her face in my hands. "You—you are okay! You are healed!"

I pulled her in a hug an order of magnitude stronger than the one she gave me, muttering things I couldn't remember while I ran my hands on her hair and kissed the top of her head.

"Please, stop with this. I don't want to see you being hurt anymore. I don't!" Hinata said, holding me tighter and burying her head in the crook of my neck. "I am fine, Naruto-kun. Please, just stay with me. You can stop now. Please."

I could never deny something to her. I finally allowed myself to relax and let go, concentrating on her scent, the heat of her body pressed against mine and the quiet sound of her breathing. Her heart beating, without danger. The maddened fury I felt, little by little, was flushed out of my mind like my blood was pouring off my still open wounds.

All because of her.

The exhaustion I had ignored for so long took its toll. Black spots danced on my vision and I felt weak, weaker than I ever felt before. Even the Uzumaki had their limits, and I had found mine.

I couldn't care about it in the slightest, though. Hinata was safe.

 _She was alive._

I smiled as my world dissolved in black and I let myself fall into her arms.

I knew she would be there to hold me.

* * *

If you like the story or want to comment anything, **please review!** Thank you, lads.


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